Singing At Midnight

 

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 few weeks ago, I was in my car heading across town to the grocery store.  It’s just one of those little errands I have to perform each week if I want to eat—and believe me I want to eat!  In any event, as I navigated through traffic, waiting on stoplights, dodging potholes, and jockeying for position, an announcer from the radio made an absolutely wonderful statement.  It was one of those statements—a glaring truth if you will—that almost caused me to stop my car right there in the center lane! 

 

The statement wasn’t chocked full of fifty-dollar words or wonderful images painted with eloquence.  It was composed of only three words, two of them had one syllable and the third had only two.  Moreover, it wasn’t even a statement; it was a question, a question that demanded a yes or no answer, straight up and down, and the answer to that question would be all-telling concerning my handling of the difficult moments in life. 

 

The announcer was relating several struggles she had been encountering in her walk with the Lord.  She had grown discouraged and had sought counsel from a tried, true, and dear Christian friend.  She had hoped her friend would resolve her issues, give her wise insight, and free her from the burdens she was carrying. Instead, the friend asked a simple question, something our announcer hadn’t expected and certainly didn’t want.  She wanted resolution, not an occasion for reflection.  But after reflecting on the question her friend asked, she found that her answer was the key to resolving her frustration and anxiety about her walk with the Lord. 

 

So, what was the question?  Simply this, “Are you singing?” Her friend knew all too well that we sing when all is going well but the song seems to stop when the trail takes un up-hill turn and our feet grow weary from stumbling over one stone after another.  How easy it is to sing when the road is flat, the air is fresh, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and a gentle breeze is blowing.  But oh how hard, if not impossible, it is to sing when the path is steep, when the rains are falling, when the winds hit us with gale force, and there is no sun to light our path.  At times like these the question, “Are you singing?” provides no comfort and is somewhat insulting. 

 

But the question is a good one and our answer indicates our understanding of God’s working in our lives.  Job hit it right on the head when, in answering his wife’s counsel to curse God, he said, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” (Job 2:10).  Yes, the way we handle the difficult times in life speaks volumes about our relationship with God. 

 

One of the best instances of singing occurs in the book of Acts. Paul and Silas find themselves in a Philippian jail, locked in the inmost part of the prison, shackled to a wall.  What is their reaction to this set of circumstances?  What do they do?  Well, let’s find out.  Acts 16:25 tells us, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." Yep, you got it!  They were singing! 

 

Two great truths glare out at us from this brief passage.  First, notice the time of day.  It was midnight.  It was dark, nothing stirred, there was no light to guide them, and they were locked in a dank prison.  Second, other prisoners were listening to them.  The first truth reminds us that things in life, especially in the Christian life, aren’t always rosy.  At some point or other the clock will register midnight and we will find ourselves in a difficult situation with no option but to stay where we are.  We can’t move forward, we can’t escape, and no friends come to our aid.  This is where the second truth comes in.  People are listening to us—all the time!  What we say, what we do, how we say it, and how we do it, are the true barometers of our faith and reliance on God in all circumstances of life.  

 

Paul and Silas sang.  No matter the difficulty of their situation, no matter how frustrated they were, and no matter how lonely they may have felt, they sang to the Lord.  That question from the radio announcer still echoes in my ears today.  In the dark, difficult, and lonely moments of life, how do we answer that question?  Do we do so with a contemptuous “no” or with a reverent and confident “yes” knowing our God will supply all the needs we have according to the riches He has in Christ Jesus.  So when the midnights of life come—as they will—“Are  you singing?”