Singing Hope Songs

The Eternal your God is standing right here among you, and He is the champion who will rescue you. He will joyfully celebrate over you; He will rest in His love for you; He will joyfully sing because of you like a new husband. Zephaniah 3:17 (VOICE)

I spent the first night in ICU with my husband. His diaphragm was no longer working so he was relying on a ventilator to push the air in and out of his lungs. Such a small organ that I wouldn’t even know existed unless I had taken singing lessons.

I took in a deep breath and let my diaphragm expel all the air. How simple these actions seem when your body works properly and how helpless you can feel when someone you love is unable to do so.

The rhythmic sound of the ventilator was in 4/4 time. Normally, I would have started composing my own song. I’ve done that a lot during my life. But not tonight. My heart was broken; our future seemed uncertain. Tomorrow they would cut Bill’s throat and put in a tracheotomy to allow the air flow to go directly into his lungs. I had just read the long list of risks both during and after the surgery. This was a true game-changer.

Earlier that day I had seen a mental picture of Jesus stroking Bill’s head as he lay in the hospital bed. That vision had faded in the reality of what we were facing. All I felt was fear and as I gave in to that feeling it seemed like hopelessness and darkness enveloped me.

My husband finally slept as I squirmed to find a comfortable position in the chair provided for me. I was grateful they let me stay close by. The ventilator’s sound continued to establish the rhythm of his breathing. I couldn’t sleep so I focused on the sound. A song popped into my head. It was one we sang a long time ago and was based on Zephaniah 3:17. “The Lord Thy God in the midst of Thee is Mighty. He will save and rejoice over you with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing.”

I fell asleep with that song resonating in my heart. The Lord was truly there with us. And for right now, that was enough.

Hope Tools

Choose to sing

When the bottom drops out of your world the last thing you want to do is sing. It can seem hopeless as you scramble to pick up the pieces and hold it all together. The burden becomes great and you feel weak. Choose to sing. It can be a sad song that makes you cry. That’s okay. You don’t have to manufacture the joy. Embrace what you are feeling. Tears are your friends. You don’t have to hold it all together. Gather up the sadness and offer it up to the Lord. He wants to carry the burden for you. Your part is to begin to sing praises.

Recognize God’s presence

Your Heavenly Father is right there in the middle of the mess. He is the calming force when you have more questions than answers. His love will calm you if you let Him do that for you. He is your champion who will rescue you. Of course, I wanted the rescue to be a certain way. That was the hardest part to release – the expectations of a certain outcome from my powerful champion. For now, I chose to rest in the confident assurance that He would continue to provide us everything that we needed just when we needed it most. There’s no room for fear when He shows up.

Prayer

Thank You, Lord for Your presence. You are very present to bring me an eternal perspective. You have promised to show up in a mighty way in grace and mercy. It is Your joy to be here. In fact you joyfully celebrate what You are doing in this situation. As we sing of Your goodness you bring peace and calm. So much so, that there is no need to say a word. You bring rest and assurance of Your great love. I am amazed that you enjoy this relationship as much or more than I do. You sing and dance over me with great love and affection. As I tune into your joyful song I can sense your delight and pleasure and that fills me with great hope. Thank you for the grace to cling to these truths in this season of caregiving (Zephaniah 3:17 Voice). In Jesus’ Name. Amen.