When we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.”
Rivers of Babylon
Jeff & Sheri Easter - Rivers of
Babylon [Live] - YouTube
Dear Reader,
The
Psalm above shares the cries of the Jewish people held in captivity. Ripped
from their homeland, they sorrowed to the point they couldn’t sing the songs of
God that lived in their hearts, so they hung up their harps, not imagining
they’d ever use them again.
To
make matters worse, their captors tormented them to sing, knowing full well how
distressed they were.
Yet,
in time, the captives hearts were restored, their joy returned, and they took
down their harps and lifted their voices to the Lord.
Have you ever been so hurt you cannot fathom healing? Have you,
too, “hung up your harp?”
Although I may not have been through the same hurt as you and definitely
haven’t experienced the level of the hurts our world is enduring now, all grief
holds something in common.
Decades ago, my husband and I hung up our harps. Weighed down by the
circumstances of our grief and pain, we literally could not sing. Not a note. I
wouldn’t’ve dreamt then that we’d ever sing again when we could barely
face the next day.
But
eventually we did. It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, the healing took
decades as the Holy Spirit ministered to us in our brokenness and eventually
led us to the willow tree where we’d hung our harps.
There
they were. Waiting.
Reader, your weeping may endure for a night—or countless nights. But Joy
does come in the morning! Psalm 30:5 That’s promised!
So,
dear one, please consider these words:
1) Don’t
sell the harp! It’s okay for it to hang in the willow tree for all the time you
need to move forward in your healing journey.
2) When
you’re ready, take down that harp. Dust it. Tune it. Run your fingers across
the strings. Pluck a few. You may try playing a simple song, most likely
hesitate, then try again.
3) Now
add your voice. That takes great courage, but you can do it! Tears will fall,
but you also might find you get through a stanza.
4) The
next time, you may yearn to sing more than one verse. Try looking to Heaven as
you lift your voice. Tears may still well in your eyes, but you’ll notice you
feel some better. Good job!
5) It
might very well catch you unaware when one day you realize mid-song that Joy harmonizes
with you, lightening your heart—something you never expected when you hung up
that harp so very long ago; something you would’ve never realized if you’d sold
it.
There’s
a great secret—maybe not so secret—that some don’t know, but you will learn now.
Here it is:
When a
song’s been restored after brokenness—after the incident that made you hang up
your harp—it possesses a richness, a depth of purpose it didn’t have before you
were hurt. Before you grieved.
The
song lives, and so now will you. Your song will never be the same. It’ll be
better.
And
you just may find yourself saying, “I’m so glad I didn’t sell my harp!”
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Cynthia Clawson - Turn Your Eyes Upon
Jesus [Live] (youtube.com)
#captivejews #hangingupharps #lostsong
#grief #pain #sadness #music #Godrestores #Joy #sing
(Disclaimer: I’m not a professional
counselor. My advice simply comes from
what I’ve gleaned during my own grief
journey & walk with God.)
Photo Credit: creazilla.com