A week or so ago, my wife Marty and I enjoyed a meal with her brother and sister-in-law, Ron & Shelly Hamilton.
After dinner, Ron was asked if he would sing a song—something that is becoming more and more challenging for him because of the effects of dementia. Ron—ever chuckling—said, “Sure. Let’s try.”
Shelly sat down at the piano to play while Ron and Marty sang.
“God never moves without purpose or plan when trying His servant and molding a man.”
As often is the case, thoughts returned to my mind of the first time Ron sang his new composition years ago at The Wilds shortly after he lost his eye to cancer. There was not a dry eye in the room as we witnessed God’s grace in the life of His surrendered servant.
Ron and Marty continued, “Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long.”
Halfway through the line, Ron chortled with his unexplainable laughter while Marty coaxed him on, “In darkness He giveth a song.” It’s heart-wrenching to witness the mental decline of a friend and brother who has been used so effectively by the Lord while I contemplate the irony of the words he is singing—words that have not lost even an iota of truth in his life.
These same principles of God’s sovereignty and tender care apply to each of us. While we are experiencing a season of uncertainty with the coronavirus and the election along with our personal struggles, we, too, must understand that God is moving purposefully in each of our lives. He desires love and obedience and fills our hearts with joyful song.
May the Holy Spirit remind us frequently of the truths over the next days and weeks and may we join Ron in chorus as he sings,
O, rejoice in the Lord.
He makes no mistake.
He knoweth the end of each path that I take.
For when I am tried and purified,
I shall come forth as gold.
Watch them singing, and be encouraged in the Lord.
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