When Life Gives You Lemons . . . Sing

"We must never rest until everything inside us worships God." 
- A. W. Tozer

Worship has several aspects, prayer for example, which we looked at previously.  But, my favorite part has always been singing.  It comes naturally to me.  I grew up singing - in worship, in the car with my dad, in the shower, while I played.  I sang to my children when they were babies.  Singing, like prayer, is like breathing out.  It has always and will always be an important and necessary part of our relationship with God.

Among the many examples of singing in the Old Testament we find that "Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: 'I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously'. . ." (Exodus 15:1-18).  The Psalms, which number 150, were written to be sung.  Psalms 146:1-2 reads: 

"Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

While I live I will praise the Lord;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."

In the New Testament, we see our Savior engaging in the act of singing.  After instituting the Lord's Supper, Mark tells us, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" (14:26).  Paul tells the Christians in Colosse and Ephesus to speak to each other in "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 5:19).

And, singing won't cease once we leave this earth.  All Christians await the day in Heaven where we will "[sing] a new song, saying:

You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals;

For You were slain,

And have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,"

(Revelation 5:9)

Worship - in this case singing - "will get you through the [lemons] in your life because it shifts your focus from the problem to the problem solver.”  Even deep in a Philippian jail, Paul and Silas found a reason to sing (Acts 16).  "In dire circumstances we might think it was unnatural for Paul and Silas to be singing, but it was actually the most natural thing for them to do, just as natural as praying." (Why Do We Sing? - sermon by Ray White).  It’s difficult to be overwhelmed with our trials when we’re focusing on the author of all goodness.  

In light of all that God has blessed us with and His promise of an eternal home in Heaven with Him, let us consider the hymn written by American Baptist minister Robert Wadsworth Lowry and ask ourselves "How Can I Keep From Singing?":

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul--

How can I keep from singing?

While tho' my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

While tho' the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;

And day by day this pathway smooths,

Since first I learned to love it;

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;

All things are mine since I am his--

How can I keep from singing?

When Life Gives You Lemons . . . Pray

One might ask, “Which is more important, breathing in or breathing out?”. Of course, they are both equally necessary for the continuation of life. In terms of our spiritual life, studying scripture may be viewed as breathing in while prayer and worship represent breathing out. Both aspects are necessary for a complete and fulfilling relationship with our God and our Savior. To abandon either leaves us weak and vulnerable. Previously, we looked at the benefits of scriptural study - our spiritual inhale. Now we turn to the examination of one aspect of our spiritual exhale.

I’ve heard it said, “When life brings you to your knees you are in the perfect position to pray.” In fact, it is our ability to kneel before God that gives us the comfort and strength we need to stand before the world in times of struggle. Right now our nation, indeed the whole world, is struggling. We must acknowledge the risks of the COVID_19 pandemic. Yet, there is also the reality that economies can't stay shut down forever. So many are finding it difficult to provide for themselves and their families. And, there are a plethora of opinions as to the right course of actions. One of the best things we can do right now is pray for our leaders, both secular and spiritual.

James tells us, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (5;16). And, Peter reminds us “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers” (I Peter 3:12). In prayer, we run to God. We seek Him out. As He tells Jeremiah, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29: 12-13). Through prayer we seek an intimate relationship with God. We acknowledge that He is our Creator; we lay our fears and worries at His feet and trust that He will guide us in all things. We know that God is on our side and that the victory is His. But, He's not interested in a one-sided relationship. Take the time to enter into that "sweet hour of prayer".

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known
In seasons of distress and grief
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
By Thy return, sweet hour of prayer

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
The joys I feel, the bliss I share
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for Thy return
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face
And gladly take my station there
And wait for Thee, sweet hour of prayer

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
And wait for Thee
Sweet hour of prayer

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Alan Jackson

Sweet Hour of Prayer lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

When Life Gives You Lemons . . . Turn on the Light

The great philosopher Albus Dumbledore once said, “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.”  Physical light has many useful qualities.  It allows us to see clearly the path before us.  Objects hidden in darkness no longer impede our progress.  Instead, we have the ability to view them and move around them.  Light gives warmth.  Is it not a splendid sensation to feel the warmth of the sun on one’s face in the midst of a cold winter’s wind?  And, light gives life.  Children learn in the early stages of grammar school about the process of photosynthesis – whereby, plants utilize light to produce the “fuel” necessary to live.  There is, however, an even greater light source.  

The spiritual light guiding true believers is found only in God’s word which is Jesus Christ.  This spiritual light is eternal and life giving.  “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).  Our lemons, our struggles are ultimately the consequences of a sinful, chaotic world.  The light of Jesus Christ brings order to the confusion.  In His first recorded act as creator, God literally turned on the light.  To see our way through the darkness that so often encroaches upon our lives we too must have light.  As the psalmist wrote, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (119:105).  Christians find help and hope in Jesus who is the Light in a world full of darkness.  This light shines for us through God’s word and we reap the benefits with diligent and consistent study of the scriptures.

To understand just how important God’s word is, look no further than Psalm 119.  This psalm is the longest chapter in the entirety of the scriptures.  It’s sole purpose is in extolling the virtues and necessity of God’s word in the lives of believers.  Psalm 119 is composed of 176 verses compiled into 22 paragraphs.  And, it should be noted that each paragraph begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  They appear in order, as we might say, from A to Z.


We cannot know Jesus; we cannot have His light in our lives if we do not turn on the light of His word in our hearts.  Moreover, without the light of Christ, we’re adrift in a lost and dying world.  Peter writes in II Peter 1:19, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place . . .”  If we hide the word of the Lord in our hearts, the sufferings and darkness of this world will not overwhelm the light of Christ in our lives.