What Song Are You Singing When It Hurts the Most?

What song are you singing when it hurts the most?

No, this can’t be true. I can’t take it anymore. Lord, why? Why me again?

I had the hardest time in my life, not only facing an imaginable loss and suffocating grief, but also months of major, challenging transitions.

My life has turned upside down. I couldn’t recognize who I was, and it seemed to me I was living the life of somebody else.

Everything I loved and cherished was gone, and I felt like another mini version of Job. You know, the Biblical hero who suffered the most losses in the shortest time, unjustly. 

I struggled to take the next breath, to make the next step, to live the next hour. Following the Lord’s guidance, I left everything behind and moved back to my homeland, hoping I would find the support and comfort I was craving.

Remember to pin me for later!

When We Are in the Prison of Pain

But… things didn’t play the way I imagined. Reality hit me hard, and things went from bad to worse. I caught COVID, then my mum was admitted to the hospital, and my siblings and I needed to take care of my dad, who was bedridden after a stroke. Perhaps this was when I felt I couldn’t take it anymore. 

I wish I could tell you about my unwavering faith and trust in the Lord.

But at this moment of heavy darkness and severe shaking, my heart burst into a bitter complaint and self-pity, demanding answers, and screaming for immediate help.

What Song Are You Singing When It Hurts the Most?

When I managed to calm down, the Lord brought to my mind the story about Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-26. 

Imagine their situation. They served faithfully the Lord, following Him and doing His will. In Philippi, Paul cast a demon out of a slave girl, by which she predicted the future and brought money to her masters.

Losing her as a source of income enraged the owners, and set a chain of events in their lives as a “reward”: judged, beaten, thrown into prison, put into the inner cell, without any light, feet in the stocks. Could it get worse?

It was midnight. If I were there in this agony, with bleeding wounds, unable to move, in the darkest darkness, most probably I would say, “Lord, what did I do to deserve this? Why did you allow this unfair trial and the prison? Do something, set us free.”

I would complain. And I would demand. I would expect the Lord to do something.

But NOT Paul and Silas.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:25, NIV)

They were praying, and they were SINGING. What song did they sing? 

Singing a Love Song When We Are in the Prison of Pain  

They sang hymns to God. They sang songs of praise and love. I believe they felt an immeasurable joy, rejoicing in the Lord in the middle of the greatest darkness without expectations.

They didn’t try to move the Lord to do something on their behalf. These men of faith loved the Lord unconditionally and without reserve, more than their lives and well-being. Their hearts were free to sing a song of love and praise. 

Is this superhuman? 

At that moment, it seemed unattainable to me. I loved the Lord, but He beckoned me deeper, to a more mature and unconditional love—and joy.

The Lord beckoned me to see Him, focus on Him, and love Him in my pain so He could become my light, my joy, and my peace.

The Lord beckons us to see Him, focus on Him, and love Him in our pain so He could become our light, joy, and peace. #hope #peace #comfortinsuffering Share on X

An Invitation to Change the Song of Our Hearts

How can we change the songs of complaining, blaming, and self-pity to songs of gratitude, love, and joy? I believe the secret is in what we choose to focus on.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can soar like eagles above our circumstances and pains, filled with supernatural joy and peace. We can, but we need to make a choice.

We need to choose to remember the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness. Even if we are stripped of everything, He remains forever ours: our greatest treasure and reward.

When we choose to rejoice in Him and express our love in the purest worship, even in the chains of unbearable pain, and mental and spiritual weariness, then something miraculous happens.

We change.

Our souls and spirits soar free in a spacious land, sustained and refreshed by the Source of Life Himself.

Even if we are stripped of everything, the Lord remains forever ours: our greatest treasure and reward. #encouragement #trustGod #Biblestudy #faith Share on X

Breaking the Chains

And sometimes, He chooses to break the outer chains, too, and open the prison of the suffocating circumstances.

As He did with Paul and Silas.

“Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” (Acts 16: 26, NIV) 

The Lord loosened my chains, too. He loosened the chains of grief and exhaustion, and He lightened the burden of my challenging circumstances. But more importantly, He cut me loose from the chains of a demanding and complaining attitude, leading to a greater measure of freedom.

The freedom to love Him for who He is.

He helped me change my narrative in the middle of my pain and darkness and gave me a new song: a song of love, joy, and hope.

What is the song you are singing to Him when it hurts the most?

Changing the Melody in our Hearts Is Possible When We Draw Near to God

If you want to learn more about how God used my losses, grief, and other painful experiences to transform and bless me, my book,“Draw Near: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings,” is for you.

Let me take you on a journey through 13 painful experiences, showing losses and the precious blessings in each of them.

More Encouragement for You

If you need more resources, encouragement, and comfort when you go through pain, grief, and despair, I can highly recommend these books. Check them out.

Trusting God in All the Things: 90 Devotions for Finding Peace in Your Every Day by Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk

Make Up Your Mind: Unlock Your Thoughts, Transform Your Life by Denise Dubois Pass and Michelle Nietert

Life Can Be Good Again by Lisa Appelo

It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lisa Terkeurst

Hope When Life Unravels: Finding God When It Hurts by Adam Dooley

Restoration Year – a 365 Days Devotional by John Eldredge

All Things New by John Eldredge

Hope for the Hard Days by Sarah Geringer

Lean into Grace by Stacey Pardoe

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Your Turn

Are you in the prison of pain now? How can you change your focus and worship the Lord? Share in the comments and on social media if you found this article helpful. Thank you!

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The Lord helped me change my narrative in the middle of my pain and darkness and gave me a new song: a song of love, joy, and hope. #hope #faith #transformation Share on X