STILL WE SING

JULY 11

Psalm 137

Psalm 137:4, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”

Psalm 137 is one of the most emotionally raw passages in all of Scripture. It was written during or just after the Babylonian exile—a time of profound grief and spiritual disorientation for God’s people. In 586 BC, Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon, the temple destroyed, and the people carried far from home. By the rivers of Babylon, the psalmist says, “we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” Their captors mocked them, demanding songs of joy. But how could they sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land, surrounded by loss?

This question— “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (v. 4)—echoes the cry of every believer who has faced suffering, loss, or prolonged trial. The kind of trial where hope feels like a memory, and praise feels like a struggle. Yet this psalm is more than lament. It is worship through tears. Even the remembering is a form of faith—anchoring sorrow in the presence of the God who still sees and still cares.

In a way, Laura and I have come to understand something of this. As she’s battled cancer and chronic pain for more than eight years, I have walked beside her through storms we never imagined. And in this long journey of endurance, one song has ministered to me again and again: “I Will Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns. The lyrics echo the choice to worship when the storm doesn’t stop—to trust when healing hasn’t come—to lift hands in surrender when you feel like collapsing: “And I’ll praise You in this storm, And I will lift my hands, For You are who You are, No matter where I am…”

Praise doesn’t demand perfect circumstances.  God’s goodness and faithfulness are unchanging realities in which we can always trust and for which we can always praise Him. Worship in suffering is not a contradiction—it’s an anchor. It is choosing to remember, to hope, and to trust in the God whose steadfast love endures forever—even when you feel exiled in your own life.  Worship amid sorrow bears a powerful testimony!

“He put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.” – Acts 16:24-25

Application questions: What “foreign land” are you walking through right now—where worship feels hard or even impossible? What would it look like to lift your voice there? Are there songs or Scriptures that have helped you praise through the storm? How might God use them to renew your hope today?