The Sounds of Silence

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there, those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” Psalm 137:1-4

This testimony of the Israelites in this Psalm is extremely touching and moving to anyone who has ever found themselves out of the will of God. The Jewish people had long neglected the commands of scripture, and were also guilty of ignoring the clear warnings of God’s prophets that He had graciously sent to them. And what was the result?  They were eventually overthrown by an invading army and carried away captive into the land of Babylon. It was after this sobering event that their captors asked to hear some of the famous songs of praise from the lips of God’s chosen people. The reply to this request is so very powerful. They “wept” after “hanging their harps upon the willows” and said, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”

If you have ever been sidetracked in your journey of faith, you know how difficult it is to sing songs of praise in what Psalm 137 calls a foreign land. I remember foolishly making statements years ago that can only be likened unto the boasting of Peter on the night of Christ’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. These past few years have made me realize how arrogant I was to make mindless claims of what I would and would never do based upon the limited understanding of my own self.

The truth is, we have no idea what we will face in our lives, and we have no idea how we will respond. Recently living in what felt like a Babylonian experience, my heart had no real joy in singing the “songs of Zion” for quite a while. During the last few weeks, however, I have experienced my broken chords of praise beginning to vibrate once more.

I am so thankful for His amazing grace working in my life, my family, and hopefully, in a new season of gospel ministry. Thank you for praying for us. Doors of preaching opportunities continue to swing open for me, and I am most humbly grateful.