Are you in trouble today, spiritually? Emotionally? Or even physically? There’s a hymn of praise to God that’ll more than match it. So, sing it tomorrow morning and chase away every dark thought and shade of sin.
I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, sharing hope today in your hardships.
And we glean a lot of hope from the book of Psalms, don’t we? Like in Psalm 59 where David writes, “I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” David made such a good choice right there. Whenever he was in trouble, he started his day singing about the strength of God. Somewhere in his growing-up years, perhaps when he was just a boy tending his sheep at night out in the pasture, David decided that in the last watches of that night, he’d begin his day with a hymn of praise to God. No matter what was going on in his life, he wrote with intention, “I will sing of your strength in the morning.” And he needed to; because here was a man who faced more than enough trouble and danger. In fact, David wrote Psalm 59 when King Saul had sent men to watch his house in order to kill him. And so, there’s our man up in his bedroom singing praise songs in the early hours when he knows full well that men are outside his front door waiting to murder him!
The Bible makes the point that there’s something special about seeking God and singing praise to him in the morning, especially in times of trouble. Because when you begin the day singing about his strength, you’ll be less likely to “sing the blues” by the time your day is over. Singing about God in the morning is a practice that I’ve developed over the years, and it’s been a good life choice. When the day begins, and I sit up in my wheelchair? I know full well that the world and its ways, the devil and his tactics, and my fallen nature and its desires – all of it, are lurking, as it were, right outside my front door, looking to do me in. Because I’m in a daily battle with those enemies and so I have to fire up my heart with a song of praise.
Speaking of my front door, often, right before I open it and head to my van to go to Joni and Friends, I’ll start singing, “Oh what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day; I’ve got a beautiful feeling everything’s going God’s way.” Okay, so it’s not a hymn, but it sets the tone. Or, as I’m driving up the 101 Freeway, I’ll sing, “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah,” and I mean it: “Oh, Jesus, be my guide; show me the path you want me to take and be my strength.” Sometimes I sing, “Your name is a strong and mighty tower; your name, is a shelter like no other.” And we know spiritual enemies scatter when they hear us sing the name of Jesus! Look, I don’t sing just to fill up time, or because I want to hear myself, or that there’s nothing better to do driving up the freeway. I sing because I have to. I need to. Especially in the early hours of the day. In my times of trouble [and this wheelchair is a lot of trouble], I sing of God’s strength.
Now, you may not be able to hold a tune, but there’s power in singing praise to God when the day is new. And so, color your day with praise songs before any shades of cynicism, or negative talk, sin, or despair get you singing the blues. And let Psalm 59:16 be your inspiration. Say with the psalmist, “I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” Are you in trouble today, spiritually? Or emotionally? Or even physically? There’s a hymn of praise to God that’ll more than match your need. So, sing it tomorrow morning and chase away every dark thought and shade of sin.
© Joni and Friends