Broadcasting God's Song

Let’s take a moment to think about the words of the Psalmist as he encourages us to sing a new song to the Lord.  Psalm 98 is filled with amazing prose that reminds us of all the great and glorious things He does for us.  And yet, sometimes life throws you a curveball reminder that evil is still very much a real part of this world, and, as a result, it’s difficult to be positive about much of anything, yet alone find the will to praise anyone or anything when you’re completely broken by sorrow.

This week our community was struck by tragedy on Halloween eve as a young father decided to take his own life and the lives of his two young daughters in a shocking double murder-suicide in his car on a lonely mountain road.  The aftermath has impacted many people: family, friends, schools, churches, emergency responders, and complete strangers who simply feel the pain of the survivors.  It’s at times like this when you can see newfound respect for someone like Job who, after enduring one life-shattering calamity after another, remained steadfast in his faith as all he could do was proclaim “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I think Job understood this life is full of good and evil.  And while evil comes directly from the great tempter, Satan, and our own free will, God has zero percent responsibility for these terrible events.  Job knew that God is all about the good in our lives - and not just the birthdays, and the romances, and the graduations and the promotions at work.  His good extends far beyond these celebrations to a place where He alone can take the worst nightmare and, in time, transform it with peace and forgiveness and love and compassion.  The pain still lingers and our lives have been shattered beyond complete repair, but then again no one ever said this life would be paradise.  That’s a life yet to come and sometimes we fail to remember where we are on our life’s journey.

The demons that plague us can be terrifying and very real. We all face struggles and disappointment and fear and shame.  But for those of us who know Christ, we can face them with the promise of grace and hope.  Without faith, we are truly lost souls awaiting the inevitable and infinite agony of hopelessness.  The Psalmist asks us to sing a new song.  Perhaps that new song can be broadcast best in the music of our lives.  Let our lives be the vehicle playing over and over the sweet, sweet tune of God’s love for all to experience.  When others find life unbearable and absent of any promise, may our songs be a beacon to their grieving and tortured souls in need of an earful of hopeful lyrics and melodies.  Sing the song of God’s good news and His saving grace and, when all else fails, we will know assuredly that there is always one we can count on, one we can turn to in the darkest of hours, and one who loves us unconditionally.  Thanks be to God and blessed is His name!