A few years ago, our family spent the summer living in Northern Ireland. The congregation that became our temporary church home wasn’t large or outwardly impressive, but they could sing. Week after week, they pulled out well-worn psalters and, without accompaniment, sang the words of the psalms. With lovely harmonies—and obvious enthusiasm—their whole gathering became a choir to rival any I have heard.

This week’s featured article was written by Hannah Clarke, a member of that church. We spent our summer praying for her infant son, Wilfred, who was desperately ill in the NICU. And we had the opportunity to see her faith in practice as she and her husband Joel came to worship every Sunday and sang the songs God’s people have always sung.

As Hannah writes, “When Wilfred was doing well, I sang of God’s goodness. When he was struggling, I kept singing. The psalms reminded me of truth my mind knew but my heart couldn’t always comprehend. Singing them disciplined me to continue worshiping God, even when I felt like doing nothing but screaming in distress.”

Whatever you’re facing today, I know one thing that will be good for your soul: sing the psalms. Come to the Lord with the full range of your joys and sorrows. Praise and lament; give thanks and cry out for help. Sing God’s words back to him in worship.

In trouble and in joy, may you be able to say with Hannah and Joel: “We haven’t stopped singing.”

In Christ,

Megan