When I was growing up in South Carolina, there were frequent storms that would knock out the electricity.
My mother would light candles or get out the old kerosene lamps to provide some light. Then she would hold me on her lap and sing the hymn, “God Will Take Care Of You.”
In spite of the thunder, lightening and the dark, I felt warm and secure. My mother’s voice was strong, clear and confident. It was obvious she had been in storms before and she knew what to do.
Now as I face adult storms, I have returned to my mother’s method of dealing with them.
When I go to bed at night, I sing hymns. Sometime ago, God prompted me to sing the words of the hymn as He would sing them to me.
Example, in The Hymn, “God Will take Care of You “—
It is written,
Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.
God will take care of you,
Through every day, o’er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
God sings it to me as,
Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
I will take care of you;
Beneath My wings of love abide,
I will take care of you.
I will take care of you,
Through every day, o’er all the way;
I will take care of you,
I will take care of you.
There is no better way to go to sleep than to have The Lord of The Universe sing you a lullaby.
Last night, I had been struggling with a respiratory problem. As I coughed and fretted, I was not sure I could sing. But I did so in faith, hoping the praises of my mouth would soothe all parts of me.
Much to my amazement, the song came out clear and strong. After I had sang a couple of verses, I was ready to go to sleep.
However, The Lord said, “I not only take care of you. I take care of others. Let’s sing to them.”
And so we did. We visited different people in spirit. As far as I know, I never physically left my bed, but Spiritually God and I made the rounds.
Our first stop was to see my friend, Mary. Mary has also been battling an illness that causes coughing. We sang to her, assuring her God would take care of her. I imagined us gently tucking her in and bringing peace to her body, mind and spirit.
We visited others, the sick, the grieving, the lonely, the lost. With each visit, I relaxed more and more, knowing that God had given me a tremendous blessing. He lifted me out of my self pity and allowed me to travel with Him and hear His Words of Assurance over and over again.
I drifted into sleep with His Words not only in my mouth and ears, but in my spirit.
I feel sure God would welcome you into His traveling choir. Not only will He boost your spirit, but you may come sing to me in spirit. I’d really like that!
I’m sure that is very calming. I may need to try this sometime although I’m always able to sleep unless I go to bed at a decent time. Haha. Great post!