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Sad Songs

The motivation for so many of the songs we love have their origin in a broken heart or a dashed hope or a shattered dream. Tears are the wellspring of human inspiration. Perhaps you are crying over a persistent sadness in your own life today, and maybe it seems as if the stream of tears will never dry up. Try this: like the psalmist, put your experience into words. Then turn your words into a tune. And if nothing else, sing your own song to the Lord. You never know, someone may discover your sad song someday, and your lament may become a source of inspiration as they journey the highway of heartbreak.

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 88 // Focus: Psalm 88:1-3

A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.

Country music isn’t the only genre to have an abundance of sad songs. The truth is, all types of music have their fair share of lament. It may not be obvious at first, but the motivation for so many of the songs we love have their origin in a broken heart or a dashed hope or a shattered dream. Tears are the wellspring of human inspiration.

The reason we keep coming back to sad songs time after time, generation after generation, millennium after millennium—and will continue to do so until sadness is banned from the created realm at the end of time—is because they work. As we listen to them, the singer skillfully pulls from us the very same raw-edged emotions of pain, loss, and disappointment described in the song, and somehow magically, mysteriously, inextricably, we become a part of it. Strangely, a sad song done well make us even sadder—and we love it.

That’s what the psalm is doing here. He is sad, and he has written a song about it that pulls us into the raw, jagged edge of his pain. This man despaired of death—perhaps from outside forces, or maybe from the inner pain of his heartbroken life. (Psalm 88:3) He felt abandoned by his closest friends, and all alone in the world. (Psalm 88:8,18). He was simply worn out with sorrow (Psalm 88:9) and was deeply disappointed with God for it. (Psalm 88:13-14) He had suffered a life-long devastation—with no relief in sight, and he was at a point of surrendering to the likelihood that his would always be a hard and sad life. (Psalm 88:15)

We know that this man, named Heman by the way, was a very wise man (I Chronicles 4:31)—among the wisest of the wise. Yet all of his wisdom, talent (he was also a singer-songwriter according to I Chronicles 15:19) and position in the king’s court didn’t prevent nor alleviate the pain that saturated his world. But Heman was wise enough not just to sit around and stew in his sad juices. Perhaps what made him so wise and talented was that he did something as therapeutic as anything else on earth to counteract his sadness: He wrote songs. He put his experiences and his emotions into words, and those words were set to music, and they were memorialized in the psalter of the human race, the book of Psalms. Maybe his pain never went away—we just don’t know—but I’m guessing—no, I’m sure—that he felt a whole lot better knowing that others would be inspired and find strength for their own painful journey through his music.

So why don’t you give it a shot. You’ve got pain, too. You have your fair share of sorrow, and disappointment. Sometime you wrestle with the sobering sense that your sadness over a matter may just be your lot in life. Perhaps it never will go away—I hope not—but that may be your reality. Go ahead and put your experience into words. Then turn your words into a tune. And if nothing else, sing your own song to the Lord.

You never know, someone may discover your sad song someday, and your lament may become famous. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Making Life Work: If sorrow, and disappointment have given birth to pain, and if it seems that sadness will be your lot in life, then put your experience into words, then turn your words into a tune. For sure, sing your song to the Lord, but stay open to the possibility that your sad song may enrich someone else along the way who is going through what you have gone through. Remember, your tears might be the wellspring that inspires another.

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Favorite Places

We all have favorite cities—the beautiful but quirky Portland, the iconic San Francisco, the bustling New York City. But did you know God has a favorite city, too? For his own reasons, he favors Jerusalem. And I can’t disagree with him—it’s pretty amazing. I hope you will get to go. It is absolutely breathtaking—physically and spiritually! And one day, Jesus will physically, literally reign there in his full glory—and the entire world will come to worship in the city of the Great King. And you will be there, too. As will I. So here’s the deal: Between now and then, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6) Develop a passion for it, since God is so passionate about it. Start reading up on it. Plan a trip there before you leave Planet Earth. And just remember this: As spectacular as the view of the holy city is from this side of eternity; it ain’t nothing compared to what Jerusalem will be like when King Jesus lives there!


Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 87// Focus: Psalm 87:2

The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

There are certain cities that I just love. I’ll bet you have favorite places, too. I think San Francisco, for all its weirdness, has to be one of the most spectacular cities of all. The Golden Gate Bridge to the north, the Bay Bridge to the East, Alcatraz in between; North Beach, Fisherman’s Warf, the amazing skyline, the outstanding restaurants. What a cool city!

Denver is a great city in my book. The drama created by the Great Plains abruptly crashing into the snow-capped Rocky Mountains; the majestic front-range all the way from Pike’s Peak in the south to Long’s Peak to the north is nothing short of a never-ending Kodak moment. The spectacular panoramic view Denverites get every single day is second to none.

Portland is at the top of my list as well. There is nothing like the Great Northwest. The fall colors are every bit as wonderful as New England’s. The summers are indescribable. The fragrant blossoms on a spring day can almost make you forget the rainy winter you’ve just endured. The rivers, bridges, verdant hills, lush canopy and view of Mt. Hood will take your breath away, guaranteed. I am so blessed to live here.

And then there are cities I don’t like. I won’t mention any names, but, for instance, the initials of one such disliked city is, “L.A.” You figure it out. What were the city planners thinking when they laid that one out?

God has a favorite city, too. Did you know that? He has his reasons, and I am not entirely sure what they are, but I can’t disagree with him. Jerusalem is pretty amazing. I hope you will get to go there if you haven’t already. One of my favorite views of any city in the world is the one you get coming up over the Mount of Olives, and looking westward over the Kidron Valley, getting a glimpse for the first time of the Temple Mount of the holy city, Jerusalem. Breathtaking! Absolutely breathtaking!

God loves Jerusalem, and one day, when Jesus reigns in his full glory, the entire world will come to worship there. Even Israel’s mortal enemies will bow the knee in wonder in the city of God. And you will worship there, too. As will I.

So here’s the deal: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6) Develop a passion for it, since God is so passionate about it. Start reading up on it. Check out the brochures. Plan a trip there before you leave Planet Earth. And just remember this: As spectacular as the view of the holy city is from this side of eternity; it ain’t nothing compared to what Jerusalem will be like when King Jesus lives there!

Making Life Work: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Everyday, include her in your prayers. As you do, you will be praying for a place and a people who are dear to the heart of God. And he will bless you for it.

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Signs

We don’t normally encourage people to pray for signs, somehow thinking that true faith doesn’t focus on physical answers. We teach faith over sight; that it’s more spiritual to believe in the invisible than to grasp for the visible. But in Psalm 86, David’s faith led him to believe God for and boldly ask for a literal, physical sign that would prove to the whole world that he was living under Divine favor: “Give me a sign of your goodness What is so bad about that?” So go ahead, pray for a sign of God’s goodness today. David did! I am, too!

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 86 // Focus: Psalm 86:17

Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

I have taken to praying Psalm 86 over the past couple of years. Not so much the second part about my enemies—I may be naïve, but I don’t think I wrestle with people who are out to get me quite like David did. It’s the first part of that verse that I love: Give me a sign of your goodness.

Here is the way some of the other translations put it:

“Send me a sign of your favor.” (New Living Translation)

“So look me in the eye and show kindness…Make a show of how much you love me…” (The Message)

“Show that you approve of me!” (Contemporary English Version)

That is a great prayer to pray in any version—and even better if God so happens to answer it. What was the sign David was looking for? For sure, David needed protection (Psalm 86:2), but he wouldn’t mind if God threw in a little mercy, too (Psalm 86:3,16). David wanted God to give him reason to laugh ((Psalm 86:4), perhaps from the knowledge that yet again he had been forgiven of his sins (Psalm 86:5,15). And in general, since David had fully devoted himself to God (Psalm 86:2), he wanted his life to be living proof that God loved him.

We don’t normally encourage people to pray for signs, somehow thinking that true faith doesn’t focus on physical answers. We teach faith over sight; that it’s more spiritual to believe in the invisible than to grasp for the visible. But David’s faith led him to believe God for and boldly ask for a literal, physical sign that would prove to the whole world that he was living under Divine favor. What is so bad about that?

So go ahead, pray for a sign of God’s goodness today. I am! I am asking that God will show me a literal, physical sign of his favor today. I, unapologetically, want the whole world to know that he approves of me. I am requesting that God will look me in the eye and make a show of how fond he is of me—not tomorrow, but today!

Who knows, maybe God will grant our request today!

Making Life Work: Why not pray for a sign of God’s goodness today. I am! Who knows, maybe God will grant our request today!

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Hear—And Do!

There is no deep, mysterious secret to a revival of Divine favor in your life. There is no complex set of rules and regulations a believer must master in order to live in the blessing of abundance promised in the Bible. It is so simple even a child can get it. In fact, all good parents drill this into their children early and often: Listen and obey! When I get to the end of my life, I hope that I will have so lived that on my headstone are inscribed these words: He listened to God—and obeyed!

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 85 // Focus: Psalm 85:8

I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly.

I don’t believe formulas are ever possible with the Lord, but if we can distill his Word down to one, here is a simple prescription for Divine favor: Hear—and do!

Listen to God, then do what he says. Hear and do! James echoed that command in the New Testament when he said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Then, for the one who hears and does, James added, “He will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22,25)

There is no deep, mysterious secret to the revival of favor that the psalmist is seeking in Psalm 85. There is no complex set of rules and regulations the believer must master in order to live in the blessing of abundance promised in the Bible. It is so simple even a child can get it. In fact, all good parents drill this into their children early and often: Listen and obey!

You have no problem with that—right? Neither do I! So here’s the question: Why aren’t you doing that?

I am not trying to be judgmental or confrontational, I am just asking a serious question. You have areas of your life where you are either not listening to God, or not obeying what you hear—or both! So do I. And that may be the very reason you and I are not living in the full abundance of God, spiritually, financially, physically, professionally or relationally.

So what are you going to do about it? I think I will do a little evaluating today—some listening, first, then obeying. I plan on getting this one right. You can hold me accountable on that one. And when I get to the end of my life, I hope that I will have so lived that on my headstone are inscribed these words: He listened to God—and obeyed!

Making Life Work:  What is the area where you are not fully obeying God? Evaluate—do some listening first. Let God reveal your heart and his heart on this matter. Then second, repent. Ask God to forgive your incomplete obedience. And third, obey. Getting on it right away. From here on out, listen to God—then quickly and fully obey!

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Sing On The Way

As we come together corporately, the very place where we gather—church building, school auditorium, family room, under a tree—along with those who gather, is the temple of God, his holy dwelling place on earth. Something powerful happens when we, the body of Christ, gather to exalt the head of the body, Jesus Christ. As Christ is worshipped, God’s presence fills the temple. And that is something to sing about! If you’ve lost the kind of anticipation for going to church that makes you sing, I would suggest you have misplaced your understanding of what the community of believers is all about. Go back and find it—it is crucial to your spiritual health. When you come to church, you are coming into the very place and to the very people who are now the dwelling place of God! And where God dwells there is both earthly joy and eternal pleasure.

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 84
Focus: Psalm 84:10

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Do you sing on your way to church? The Israelites did. There was a whole series of songs written just for people on their way to the tabernacle, and later, the temple, in Jerusalem. They were called psalms of assent. And while technically, this psalm isn’t included in the psalms of assent, like those songs, this song extolled the blessings of belonging to God and the anticipation of coming to the earthy dwelling that housed his uncontainable presence. This is a good song to sing on the way to church.

Perhaps we ought to revive that tradition of singing on the way. I’m sure it would heighten our anticipation of entering the Lord’s presence with the community of believers and deepen our experience of his mighty presence in the house of worship.

Of course, the New Testament teaches us that we no longer need to go to the temple in Jerusalem in order to worship—a good thing, since it no longer exists. Under the new covenant, God, himself, continually dwells in you, personally—you are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 6:19) Yet while God dwells in you individually, your salvation is not to be divorced from God’s people collectively—the church. You and I, together, make up the new covenant temple of God. (I Corinthians 3:16-17; II Corinthians 6:15-17; Ephesians 2:20-22)

As we come together corporately, the very place where we gather—church building, school auditorium, family room, under a tree—along with those who gather, is the temple of God, his holy dwelling place on earth. Something powerful happens when we, the body of Christ, gather to exalt the head of the body, Jesus Christ. As Christ is worshipped, God’s presence fills the temple. And that is something to sing about!

If you have lost the kind of anticipation for going to church that makes you sing, I would suggest you have misplaced your understanding of what the community of believers is all about. I would challenge you to go back and find it—it is crucial to your spiritual health. When you come to church, you are coming into the very place and to the very people who are now the dwelling place of God! And where God dwells there is both earthly joy and eternal pleasure. (Psalm 16:11)

One day of the kind of earthly joy and eternal pleasure we experience as God dwells among his people is better than a thousand days on the best beaches of Maui or on the rides at Disneyland or on the greens at Pebble Beach or in between the sheets of your bed. If you don’t get that, your vision is clouded.

Making Life Work: Try it. Start singing about the goodness of God on the way to church. If you will, at some point the goodness of God will get into your spirit and you will begin to see what the psalmist saw—and then you can write your own psalm of assent.

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Kicking Tail and Taking Names

Have you ever prayed a “kicking tail and taking names” prayer, calling down the fury of heaven upon the heads of your enemies? Is that ever okay? It is, provided those people are hindering, hurting, or plotting the destruction of God’s people and God’s plan. (Psalm 83:3) It’s not when someone cut you off in traffic, or took your seat in church, or pulled out 15 coupons in the “15 Items Or Less” checkout line when you were in a hurry. If those personal offenses are your motive, that reveals more about the condition of your heart than the people with whom you are upset. So if the motive is right, then pray…but don’t just pray for their ruination, pray for their redemption. And by the way, it’s hard to pray angry prayers for very long when you are praying for the redemption of their soul!

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 83
Focus: Psalm 83:16

Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD.

“May my enemies know the fiery terror (Psalm 83:14) of your judgment; make them to know the tempest of your storm (Psalm 83:15). Make Edom, the Ishmaelites, the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre and Assyria (Psalm 83:6-8) like refuse on the ground (Psalm 83:10), nothing more than a tumbleweed tumbling along (Psalm 83:13). Make them pay, Lord!”

Have you ever prayed a “kicking tail and taking names” prayer like that? Have you ever gone before the Lord and named names, calling down the fire and the fury of heaven upon the heads of your enemies? Have you ever got that brutally honest with God?

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, unless it’s called for. If you are doing that a lot, it may reveal more about the condition of your heart than the people with whom you are upset. Perhaps you need to do a little soul work, asking God to do a deep work of healing in your heart, teaching you how to truly forgive your enemies and learning how to patiently put judgment in his just hand.

Yet there is a time where it is appropriate for you to get good and angry—not just good, and not just angry, but good and angry! Now the question is, when is that appropriate time? I don’t think I can give you a sure fire answer for every situation, but there is a clue here within this psalm that seems to echo other times in Scripture where good anger was called for. It is when the people who are upsetting you are upsetting you because they are hindering, hurting, or plotting the destruction of God’s people and God’s plan. Psalm 83:3 says,

“With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.

So that’s it—that is how you get good and angry. It’s not that someone cut you off in traffic, or took your seat in church, or pulled out fifteen coupons in the “15 Items Or Less” check-out line when you were in a hurry. It’s when their motive, known or unknown to them, is to destroy the work of God. That’s when it is appropriate to pray like the psalmist.

But here’s another clue that will keep you good when you are angry: Don’t just pray for their ruination, pray for their redemption. At the very least, pray that the Divine punishment brought down upon their heads will serve as a witness to others of the glory of God’s great name (Psalm 83:16).

By the way, it’s hard to pray angry prayers for very long when you are praying for the redemption of their soul!

Making Life Work: Now after reading this blog and you can still manage to be angry AND good, then go ahead and offer up a ‘kicking tail and taking names prayer!

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Hassled By The Man

Liberty and justice for all! That’s the common cry of the human spirit. Yet too often, the powerless have been hassled by “the man,” with impunity. Throughout history, the rich have built their wealth on the backs of the poor, men have treated women as chattel, adults have neglected children, ruling parties have disenfranchised minorities, captains of industry have enslaved “lesser” human beings, and those who have the means to prevent and eradicate poverty, hunger and disease have stood by while the lives of untold millions have been needlessly ruined. Perhaps at some level, you have even felt hassled by “the man.” And our spirit cries out for God to intervene. Friend, there is a day coming when God will rise up and bring both the living and the dead to full account. And on that day, justice and fairness will finally and fully reign, and there will be true liberty throughout all of creation. It may not seem like it today, but that day is coming. So put your hope in the coming liberty and justice of God, but then pursue it as a reality for today!

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 82 // Focus: Psalm 82:4

Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

This entire psalm is a plea for God to rise up against the powerful who use their positions of power—either through aggression or neglect—to harass and abuse the powerless: the poor, the orphan, the destitute, the oppressed. In fact, this psalm is more than a plea; it’s a challenge, really, to the Almighty to do what a righteous God ought to do: Ensure liberty and justice for one and all.

That has been a common theme in every age—including ours. Too often, the powerless have been hassled by “the man,” with impunity. Throughout history, the rich have built their wealth on the backs of the poor, men have treated women as chattel, adults have neglected children, ruling parties have disenfranchised minorities, captains of industry have enslaved “lesser” human beings, and those who have the means to prevent and eradicate poverty, hunger and disease have stood by while the lives of untold millions have been needlessly ruined. Perhaps at some level, even you have felt hassled by “the man.”

There is something in us that cries out for God to intervene, isn’t there? And sometimes we feel as though the God of justice who rules from heaven above has turned a blind eye to the plight of the unfortunate. But there is a day coming when God will rise up and bring both the living and the dead to full account. And on that day, justice and fairness will finally and fully reign throughout all of creation. It may not seem like it today, but that day is coming.

The very fact of the Christian day—Sunday—the day of the week we gather to worship in honor of the the first resurrection Sunday when Jesus rose victorious from the tomb, reminds us that death, hell and the grave have been eternally broken! So to has sin, sickness and suffering. When Jesus rose, he sent notice throughout time and eternity that he will not rest until the rulers and principalities and world systems and spiritual dominions that have caused the ruination of God’s plan for the human race are brought under his fair and just dominion.

It may not seem like it today, but the empty tomb and the Risen Savior we celebrate each Lord’s Day reminds us that God has not turned a blind eye to this planet, nor to you. This Sunday, when you go to worship, be remind that “the man’s” days are numbered. And when “the man’s” days are done, the innumerable and unending days of the rule and reign of the Son of Man will begin—and then there will truly be liberty and justice for all!

Making Life Work: Every Sunday is a recognition of Easter, the empty tomb, and the eternal, unbeatable reign of Jesus Christ. Make this and every Lord’s Day your personal Resurrection Sunday, and let them remind you every seventh day that “the man’s” days are numbered.