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2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
How many of you are waiting on God to do something? You have prayed. You have cried out all hours of the night? You have pleaded for His divine intervention. You have begged Him to move your mountains and pull you out.
You are still stuck. You are in a pit of destruction. A deep cistern from which you cannot climb out. A dark dungeon from which you cannot escape. You pray for deliverance and rescue but the long awaited day of freedom has not come.
You are stuck in miry clay. Mud that bogs you down. Bogs your hope, faith, joy, and peace. You are stuck. I know what this feels like. Growing up in the Piney woods of east Texas I have walked in mud that bogs you down. I have seen the mud caked so thick on my shoes or boots I could barely lift my feet. On more than one occasion I have tried to pull my feet out of the mud only to loose my shoe or boot. The mud would not let them go. I had to reach down and pull the shoe or boot out with my hands. The going in such conditions is slow. Each step is labor. The weight of the mud caked feet are like bricks.
When you are in the deep cistern, the dark dungeon, and suck in the mud pleading for rescue and pleading for firmer ground can you still praise?
Can you praise Yahweh, Elohim, Jehovah, Immanuel, The Great I Am, The Prince of Peace, Our Heavenly Father, and Jesus? Even when there is pain in the praise can you still sing?
Over the years the songs of praise and hymns of our faith that have meant the most to me were mostly born out of pain. It Is Well With My Soul. Amazing Grace. Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord, Never Let Go, Thy Will Be Done, and many many more. Most of these songs were written from painful circumstances to minister to others in their painful circumstances. Aren't you glad God inspired songs to help in the tough times.
There can still be praise even in the midst of pain. Consider Joseph sold into slavery and falsely imprisoned. Consider Israel in their 400 years of bondage to Egypt. Ponder the pain of Job. We cannot forget the pain penned int eh Psalms and how often those scriptures have been used to comfort and sustain people in their tough times. I think about Paul and Silas beaten and imprisoned but signing praises at midnight.
It is midnight for some of you. Things are dark in your life. The pain is real. The long sought out answers have not come, or at least not in the way you hoped they would. You are tired. Weary. Broken, Wounded.
My prayer today is that God would put a new song in your heart. A fresh song. Maybe it is not a brand new song. Maybe it is an old hymn that has been around for centuries. I ask God to make it fresh in your heart again. May the words and melodies soothe your soul and bring peace of mind. May God be praised even if there is some pain in the offering.
It is not always easy to praise in pain. At times we can be consumed with the pain. The dark clouds of pain can block out the sun of God's presence and faithfulness. In those times we must trust in what we read in scripture and not rely on how we feel. Our feelings can betray our faith.
O weary and wounded solider. God has not forgotten you. In fact, He has inclined to hear your cries. I can't speculate on why He has not brought you out of the cistern and dungeon or why you are still trudging through the miry clay. Even with pain mixed with your praise can you still find one reason to praise Him today.
His great salvation and the forgiveness of our sins is a great place to start. What about His word that has sustained through many difficult and dark days. What about all those wonderful songs born out of pain that mean so much. Somebody had to endure that pain to be able to write such songs. Songs like Tell Your Heart To Beat Again and Even If. Songs like Your Cries Have Awoken The Master and Waiting In The Water. Over the years no song has meant more to me than It Is Well Your Soul.
There is reason to praise God in life. For the redeemed there is reason to praise God in death. For those left behind to grieve there is reason to praise God even in the pain of grief. He is our refuge and strength and present to help in troubled times.
Whatever you are going through, whatever mountains you face, whatever pain grips your heart I hope you will praise even in the pain. I am not musician. I am not song writer. I do not sing publicly. My ministry is words. Preaching and writing. I hope today this little offering might minister to someone to produce a little praise in the midst of pain.
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