XCVI
God’s Steadfast Love
(7/1)
I will sing of your steadfast love, O God, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness in all generations. (Psalm 89:1; read Psalm 89 in its entirety)
Do you ever sing praises to God? Do you ever chant words of thanks? Or proclaim words of wonder? There are days when life is so wonderful that we can confess, “How can I keep from singing?” There are also dark days when we struggle and yet see a ray of light that cheers our spirits and fills our hearts with song.
I have told this story several times. When our son was diagnosed with a rare cancer, I feared that he would die. I could not summon words to pray. What came to my lips were the words of the chant, “Lord have mercy upon me. Christ have mercy upon me. Lord have mercy upon me.” When the treatments showed promise, a new song entered my heart, “Great is Thy Faithfulness, O dear Creator, Morning by morning new mercies I see, All I have needed Your hand has provided. Great is your faithfulness, God unto me.”
With a song, we can face almost anything. With a song, we can summon courage during the dark night of the soul. With a hymn of praise or anguish, we discover God is near and even in uncertain times, the stirrings of hope come forth to guide our way.
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Give us a song of salvation, a song of peace, a song of gratitude, a song of love, Great is thy faithfulness, God unto me. Amen.
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