A Song in the Night

Something about that phrase captivates me. Call me cheesy, melodramatic, idealistic, whatever... but when I hear those words, there's a faint resonance inside me like wind blowing over an empty glass bottle.

Maybe it's because you can't hide from yourself at night. All the laughing and chatting subsides, the lights are turned off, and the time glows on the alarm clock. The thoughts that daylight always hides come swirling in close, and no amount of tossing and turning can chase them away. The image of how others see you is lost, and you are left with who you really are. Night is a time of honesty. Transparency. And for many people, that is a frightening thing.

So the idea of being all alone, in the dark, with a song... it takes my breath away. I read what David wrote and want to cry. "I remember of you in the watches of the night - I sing in the shadow of your wings." Does it get any better? We all know David lived much of his life in heartache and sorrow. But when he lay awake at night, he didn't worry or fear or daydream about the life he would rather have... he sang.

Something inside me cries out for that. I've often been awake at night, sometimes restless, other times startled into consciousness by a bad dream, and of course there's the occasional caffeine high that keeps my eyelids open till the early morning hours. But have I ever in my life been alone, not with my thoughts, but with a song? I'm sorry to admit the answer is only twice, and out of 23 years of nights, that's not an impressive statistic.

But the memory of those two nights gives me more hope than you can imagine. It reminds me that there is a God who, while He doesn't always overwhelm my senses with His presence, occasionally does become "tangible" - in the form of a song. Twice now, in the midst of sorrow and confusion, and in the silence and dark of night, He has surrounded me so completely, and filled me so utterly, that before I knew it, I was whispering a love song into the stillness.

This is the One who is with me every day, even when complaining is more frequent than praise. This is the One who remains with me each night, even when I worry and dream instead of sing. And I know He is real, because in spite of my unworthiness and lack of faith, He gives me a song in the night.