I’ll Sing Through the Night
I want to play that chorus of Battle Belongs again, and listen for the words here about worship:
So when I fight, I’ll fight on my knees, with my hands lifted high
Oh God the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet, I’ll sing through the night
Oh God the battle belongs to You
Yesterday we spoke of bending our knees in prayer while we fight our battles, but let’s not forget to lift our hands high in praise as we fight! This picture of warriors worshipping is very meaningful. Because there is something very powerful about praising God when we are in a battle. There is something disarming to the enemy in our praise of God.
Let me ask us this today: when we are struggling in difficult times, do we choose to fill our lives with praise? Do we fill our homes, our cars, our hearts with songs of praise? I think we should. I think when we sing God’s praise, we break the power of the enemy over us in an amazing way.
Sing Through the Battle: Strength
So Wickham says “I’ll sing through the night”. I’ll sing until the darkness lifts and light comes again. I’ll sing!
Maybe you’re thinking I’m a terrible singer, when I sing, people cover their ears! Well, hear me: God doesn’t cover His ears. God looks at your heart when you sing, and so sing – in key, off key, in time, off time, it doesn’t matter! What matters is your heart’s declaring that God is great, even in the midst of the battle.
William H. McRaven is a retired United States Navy admiral – a highly decorated soldier. He wrote a great little book called Make Your Bed – lessons for life from his time as a Navy SEAL. In one chapter he talks about a week called hell week in which the prospective SEALS were put through such a rigorous set of physical activities that many of them would quit at that point in their training and go home.
Towards the end of this brutal week when many of the trainees where very close to their breaking points, an instructor invited the seals to stop, and come in for coffee and soup at a warm fire – all he needed was for five members of the class to quit. One of the young men began to slowly trudge towards the instructor with his head bowed, but before he made it there – a voice began to sing. It was a tired, raspy voice from among the trainees, and soon another joined, and another, until the whole class was singing loudly. The one man who had started to quit ran back and joined the group singing, and even as the instructor threatened them, they kept on singing.
Unity in Song: Strength, Victory
McRaven writes this: “In the darkness, with the fire reflecting on the face of the instructor, I could see him smile. Once again, we had learned an important lesson: the power of one person to unite the group, the power of one person to inspire those around him, to give them hope. If that one person could sing while neck deep in mud, then so could we.”
Friends, this is a picture of church! We sing together on a Sunday not just for entertainment, but because we’re all Christian soldiers fighting battles, and when we join together and sing His praise with our hands lifted high, we get stronger. And our enemy gets weaker.
So today, as you fight your battles: sing with your hands lifted high, praising the God who gives us victory.
And go to church on Sunday and sing with your fellow soldiers. What power awaits, when we fight our battles singing.
