Singing in the Rain – The Choice to Worship

 

 

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass – it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Vivian Greene

 

During the Summer of 2005 I had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of climbing the Great Wall of China – and it rained. As we trudged across the slippery stones, I remember feeling a little bummed about getting rained on during such an exciting trip. But I’ll never forget the way one of my college friends handled the situation. While the rest of us huddled beneath a pagoda, shivering, she ran out into the rain, threw her head back, and started to dance. “How many people get to say they’ve danced in the rain on the Great Wall of China?” she explained later, soaked to the bone and grinning from ear to ear.

If only I would allow this attitude to accompany me into life’s various ups and downs! Focusing on the joy of the Lord, even in difficult times, is precisely what the Bible talks about in I Thessalonians 5:18 when it instructs us to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

An excellent example of this that I recently came across is the story behind Shout to the Lord, a popular worship song which was written in 1993. Darlene Zschech, the song’s composer and a worship leader for Hillsong Australia, told Today’s Christian Woman that she wrote this song during a time of her life when she felt particularly discouraged. She was facing financial issues, and the daily stress of raising young children was beginning to wear on her. One day she slipped into the children’s toy room, where the family kept a piano, and began writing this powerful worship chorus.

“I felt I could either scream and pull my hair out, or praise God,” Zschech explained. “The line ‘Nothing compares to the promise I have in you,’ was something I clung to when our circumstances seemed so bleak. I think that rings true with anyone going through tough times.”[1]

The result was a worship song which is still sung throughout the world, and which helps lead countless believers to the throne of grace. Below is a video of Darlene Zschech singing this original song:

 

 

What a powerful testimony to what God can do when we face moments of darkness and intentionally choose worship over despair!

Here in Texas, the last couple of days have been extremely dreary as it hasn’t really stopped raining, and I keep finding myself thinking about the way life can begin to feel that way at times. But may I be known as someone who learned to sing in the rain, and to choose worship at all times.

 

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[1] Song Facts: “Shout to the Lord” – http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11164