Light in the Darkness

Last week first my husband, and then I had Corona, like so many at the moment. It came with a surprising number of symptoms for me: fever, sore throat, aching limbs, headache, cough, runny nose, throwing up. I found the nights the worst – tossing and turning all night without really finding sleep.

Okay, Angie, calm down, there are worse things! Don’t whine about it! It wasn’t life threatening, it didn’t last long either….

Some may think so – my mind thinks so too. And yet the emotions are there, I felt miserable and couldn’t get out of the dark spiral in my head. I couldn’t get away from feeling the pain in my body and trying to figure out whether or not I needed to throw up, whether or not there was a more comfortable position. I couldn’t get out of feeling and thinking this way.

But there was this active spark in my head that knew: Focus on God and praise God, then you will feel better!

I don’t have to praise God for the illness, because it doesn’t come from Him. What can I praise him for at that moment? That he is always with me. I know that, even if I don’t feel it at the moment. But I still found that difficult. And then this song came to my mind: “You are a good, good Father, that’s who you are! And I am loved by you, that’s who I am!….”

I could sing that in my mind and I can’t tell you how much that helped me! I became calmer. My body still had the same symptoms, but mentally I came out of this spiral and became more content. Nothing had changed on the outside, but on the inside it had. And that makes a world of difference! It helps not only with physical ailments, but with everything that causes us pain in this world, physical or psychological!

The text “You’re a good, good Father, that’s who you are” can also be interpreted as: “You’re a good Father and that’s your essence or that’s who you are in essence”.

Being a good father is God’s nature. He cannot help but be a good father, for that is His core essence. He is love.

And then this song goes on with: “I am loved by you, that’s who I am” Here the same is true: This is my essence, to be loved by God. To be loved is my essence, because I have such a loving Father. I can’t help it! Wow! It is so good to realize this over and over again!

And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love,…
1. John 4:16

Praising God helps us to look beyond our pain, stress, fear and darkness, to grasp a sliver of hope and come closer to God’s perspective. There is always more hope, love and joy there than we can imagine!

I am so thankful for a wonderful God and the many tremendous songs and hymns that have been composed over the centuries that point to him! They lead us into his presence and strengthen our souls when our thoughts are spiraling negatively. They are a means to get out of such a spiral.

Worship and songs are lifesavers in times of need because we can remember the melodies and lyrics and sing inwardly even in times of distress when the brain is not doing so well. I pray that you too instinctively know what you need right then. What songs help you? What brings you peace? What calms your fears?