Even at night I will praise Him still. Lord God it is right and just always and everywhere to sing your praise. Even when we find ourselves in the midst of a dark night, floundering in confusion and sorrow, it is good to praise God. Even in those times, maybe especially in those times, it is good to approach Him with praise for He is worthy. God’s goodness and love is steadfast and unchanging and does not depend on our understanding or how we feel about the current circumstances of our lives.
It is not disingenuous to approach God with praise under difficult circumstances or in seasons of suffering. When we are sad, hurt, in the midst of anguish God is still good, faithful, loving, worthy, honorable, just, mighty, holy. These truths do not change, do not diminish, do not cease to be true because of our sadness and to acknowledge these truths even in the midst of sorrow is right and good.
It is good because God is deserving of praise, worship, and honor at all times, but it is also good for me, good for my soul to look less at itself, its own sorry state, and more to God. Praise of God is a remedy for sorrow, leading out of the trap of self-interest into the freedom of self-forgetfulness as I gaze not upon my sorrow but upon God’s goodness and beauty. As we begin to worship God, making the choice, the act of the will to do so, we often find that our feelings follow. We remember His is good and His goodness is balm for our hurting souls.
God’s lasting goodness is more worthy of our attention then our own fleeting sorrow. Saying this is not to make light of the sufferings we are asked to bear in any particular season, but rather to put them in their proper place and to recognize their lightness in comparison to God’s immense weight of glory. Even if we were to carry a heavy cross of suffering the rest of our lives, nonetheless it would be over in the twinkling of an eye, lost in the vast joy of eternity.
To praise God in the midst of sorrow is not a disservice to whatever has caused that sorrow, but rather a proclamation of the grandeur of God’s majesty. Too often we fail to take seriously the immensity of His splendor and the fullness of life and joy that is promised to us in our Lord Jesus. Forgetful of this, our lives, especially in the midst of trials and suffering, seem burdensome, but mindful of this reality these same burdens seem light.
In the light of eternity, all earthly things, no matter their importance in the moment, are fleeting, passing away before our eyes. We ourselves are but dust, dust that has been redeemed and is being made ready to take its place in the Kingdom of love and peace in the presence of the Living God, the one who even now is worthy. Amen. Alleluia.
Prose for the sake of Poetry 