Word in Action

Several Sundays ago, I went to the Set Free church. Set Free is a mission ministry for homeless men, run by men who were formerly homeless. They have two shelters in town and hold church services in one of the buildings on Sunday morning. After being in a place that has such big production services, with full rock band and lights and video, it was nice to attend a service with just a handful of people using nothing but our voices to praise the Lord.

After the service, I met a man named Bill. Bill used to be in a quartet and he told me how his quartet sang at his wedding. The only song they knew at the time was Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. He also told me that they held their wedding in a coffee shop, one that was created for homeless people to have a place to hang out in. Because of this, none of his wife's wealthy friends wanted to come to the wedding. Bill told me they went out and invited all the street people they could find, and they came to the wedding instead. Bill also told me that they hadn't planned a reception, but someone donated a bunch of bagels and drinks and so they were able to provide food for their wedding guests. A band that had been in town also offered to play at their reception. So this wedding, that was originally planned to be very small and could have turned out to be a disaster, became an event much larger than they could have imagined, and a direct reflection of the story in the Bible.

I don't know Bill well enough to know how much truth is in his story. But I want it to be true. And I believe he believes everything he remembers about it. This story is a great example of how God is the same today as He has always been. The great works He performed in the times of the Bible, He is still performing now.

But it doesn't stop there. Sadly, Bill's marriage wasn't nearly as perfect as his wedding, and he and his wife are no longer together. It's hard to imagine how someone could experience something so perfect, something so obviously ordained by God, and still walk away from it. Yet people do that every day. God continues to perform miracles, yet people reject Him, they mock Him, they tell Him He doesn't know what He's doing. Even as we fail daily and sin, we are discrediting God's perfect design. A great experience, a miracle, helps in strengthening our faith, but it does not perfect that. Perfect faith can only come through time. Bill still has faith, which is an amazing thing. I hope that when the miracles in my life turn to imperfections, I can say the same thing.

Tonight, while I was working, I was listening to Sam Cooke songs on Napster. His rendition of "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" came on, a version I hadn't heard before. Now, when I think of this song, as I suspect many people do, I think of it as it is portrayed in the Lion King, all sad and gloomy and with a lot of woe is me angst. I've always thought of it as a self pity song. But in Sam Cooke's version, the tempo and vocals are much more cheerful and he ends the main riff with "glory, Hallelujah!" At first this seemed to be somewhat of an odd phrase to add to the song, but then I changed my perspective of the lyrics and it made perfect sense.

When sung as a praise, it could be taken to mean he recognizes the hardships he's had to go through in life, and is grateful that no one else has had to endure it. This would imply that although he is struggling on the inside, on the outside he still appears strong. Not a fake strength to put on a happy face, but a strength that can only be found in having the joy of the Lord. It reminded me of the passage where Jesus instructed people not to tear their clothes and put on sackcloth when they mourn, as was the custom. Just because we're going through hard times it doesn't mean we should throw ourselves pity parties and let everyone know about our trouble. This is not to say that we can not employ the help of trusted and faithful friends when necessary. But the purpose of our trials is not to gain the sympathy of others, but to produce endurance, according to the book of James. It is my prayer that I can sing joyfully about the troubles I've seen and, when reflecting on them, cry out "glory, Hallelujah!"