Little Lesson 2: Another Song

SCRIPTURE:  My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:6-8 ESV

THOUGHT: Why does God allow suffering? That little question alone has kept people trapped in suffering and sadness and even anger at God throughout the ages, a trick that plays right into the hands of God’s ancient enemy (and ours). Probably the better question is why don’t we expect suffering to be part of life?

I remember reading The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck when I was about 30. One of the first things he posits is that we create mental illness by holding onto the belief that life should be easy and conflict-free. He says that life’s difficulty is “a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult — once we truly understand and accept it — then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”

Well, that’s a lot to get your head around, but I’ve tried now for 30 years to do it, sometimes coming a little closer, sometimes sliding back down into wrestling and complaining – a lot like God’s children in the wilderness come to think about it. Instead of gratitude for shoes that didn’t wear out and food that fell from the sky, they complained bitterly about … well, everything.

But the little lesson God has given me in a way I understand is that difficulty and challenge makes space for character to grow – and that’s something to be grateful for. His songs in the night keep me company, giving me something to sing about and write about and tell you about the next day.

So today, if your soul is downcast within you, remember. Even in the noise and chaos of the waterfall, even if you’ve been slammed by a breaker going over you, remember his presence. Let him whisper to you about what is more important than all the difficulty around you – that he is at work, completing what he’s begun in you, making you more like him.

SONG:

Oh, the way ahead looked steep
Nothing here could bring relief
And I wanted to give up a million times
But you had your own good reasons
That you asked me to go on
I couldn’t see it, no
I couldn’t reach it on my own, but now

I can thank you for another song
Another way to praise you, God
Another mountain that’s been scaled
Another valley where you’ve been my help
Another way I’ve tasted grace
Another day I’ve kept the faith, and
Through the fire, I have another song

Amy Clemens, “Another Song,” September 3, 2023

PRAYER: Oh God, help me remember … your grace on the journey, your love in the day, your song in the night.