Singing in the Dark: Finding Hope in the Songs of ScriptureSample

A Song for the Plodding Path

Have you found yourself in a season where the work is tedious and monotonous? Perhaps, even though you know in theory that you must be in a time of preparation, you’re not quite sure for what or why you’re seemingly stuck in your current moment. You’re aching for the future to hurry up and get here already.

The Scriptures are packed with people on plodding paths— called to slog through tedious or difficult circumstances day after day, year after year. Moses is an exceptional example and a wonderful guide on such a journey. He traded one dull phase of his life—a forty-year career of plodding after sheep—for a more difficult season of plodding: leading hundreds of thousands of cranky, clamoring Israelites on a forty-year journey to God’s promised place for them.

The story of Moses’s transformation as God guided him in the long game is truly riveting. As the Lord led him one slow, plodding step at a time, his dependence on God grew. He came to see things more as God sees them. His patience deepened. He became infinitely wiser and extraordinarily compassionate and loving.

I love that God was preparing Moses for his world-changing adventures throughout every moment of his plodding life beforehand. Moses needed his education to write the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. He needed his military training for leadership and logistics. And he needed his shepherding skills so he could patiently protect and manage the people God had tasked him with.

God absolutely does not delight in our pain. And He is always right there in the midst of it with us, working all things together for good (Rom. 8:28). Even when we don’t understand why things aren’t going according to our plans, we can be confident that the Lord is always faithfully offering His unwavering strength to us.

When my career, whether teaching or music, was my only goal at the end of the plodding path, that path felt mundane. I wanted to get there in a hurry, to accomplish all my goals yesterday. Indeed, the things I have accomplished have been greatly rewarding—for at least a few hours. But when they matter to me more than anything else, the next morning is always a grind all over again.

But when my goal is walking with God on the plodding path, it feels life-giving. There are opportunities to stop and enjoy the beauty of nature or time with a friend. There is space for listening, breathing, and praying. And there’s lots of singing of hope as I go—step by step by step.

Reflection: Can you recall a difficult season when God deepened your character and trust in Him? Reflect on, and thank Him for how He met you during that time. Or, if you can’t think of such a time, ask Him to show you, even today, His faithfulness in the details of your life.