I am not a musically inclined person by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, my mother’s talent in being an accomplished musician did not get passed on to me. Life just makes sense to me in terms of numbers, not music notes. However, I have found that when I am facing trials and difficulties, hymns of faith seem to wash over my soul like a soothing balm. Ten years ago when my husband and I left the city of New Orleans for higher ground, we sang our way through the confusion and devastation we witnessed in Hurricane Katrina.

King David said, “I will praise the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips” Psalm 34:1 HCSB. This is from a man who was on the run from a crazy king at the time! Lately, as I see tragedy strike in different ways, I just keep singing, not songs of rejoicing but songs of hope. David also said, “My heart is confident, God; I will sing; I will sing praises with the whole of my being” Psalm 108:1 HCSB. I wonder if perhaps David’s heart was confident because he sang. As he sang praises to the Lord, his heart was filled with hope.

One hymn in particular that I keep thinking about is Standing On the Promises, particularly verse 2 that I will share below.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

When howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail,

Standing on the promises of God.[1]

Sometimes all we can do is hang on tightly to the truth we have in God’s word. And when life gets tough, we can just keep singing.

[1] Carter, R. Kelso. 1991. Standing on the Promises. Nashville: Convention Press.