You Who Serve at Night

Recently I was recovering from surgery and had a lot of time to think, read, pray and become unbearably bored with daytime TV. During this time of recovery, I was bombarded with emotions, doubts, fears, hopes, dreams and everything in between. My mind tends to be a place of struggle. I needed to allow God in to help me win the battles that rage so I decided to take time each day to find some key verses that I could meditate on and rely on when I felt a mental storm brewing. One of those days, I came across these verses:

Psalm 134
Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up holy hands in prayer,and praise the Lord.
May the Lord, who made heaven and earth,
bless you from Jerusalem.

I had probably read it several times not seeing it the way I did this particular time. I felt like I was reading about myself. I have served the Lord since I was fifteen. My life has gone down some pretty tough roads and I've had some pretty dark nights. So, this verse is about me and it's probably about you, too.

When I look around my world, I see...A tired mother trying to provide for her children while their father is in prison. A broken-hearted husband holding out hope that his wife will come back to him and God will restore their marriage. A single woman trusting God to bring her a mate while her friends and family marry and move on. A man who feels trapped in his job but he's waiting on God to open the right door. A wife who feels alone in her parenting and household responsibilities. A father praying for his prodigal children to find their way back to God. A woman who desires a child but month after month, it hasn't happened yet. And so many more devoted Christians going through their own personal "night" while they faithfully serve the Lord.

These verses are meant to encourage us during the dark nights - to reach out to Him. What a beautiful picture of praise through pain. Healing through brokenness. Trust through the unknown. My own personal "night" looks a lot like this:

I will praise the Lord,
even through the dark nights of sickness and heartache will I serve Him.
I will lift up my hands in prayer and I will praise the Lord.
I will count on Him, the maker of heaven and earth,
to heal me, make me whole and full of His joy as I journey on.

You who serve at night, joy and peace are yours in His presence.