Silent Night

It was Christmas Eve in the Austrian Alps in 1818. Father Joseph was nervously excited about the crowds that would be coming to their big Christmas Eve service. They had meticulously planned and rehearsed music for their midnight service, and then disaster struck! At least the kind of disaster that any worship leader dreads. . . the organ broke! The centerpiece of their orchestrations. All of their hard work and planning had just fallen apart.

Father Joseph learned that day the power of Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." In the wake of realizing he had no music for his church's midnight Christmas service, he penned what become one of the most widely sung Christmas songs ever written. In his stress, he wrote the lyrics to Silent Night and gave them to his organist, who created a melody. That night, the song was sung for the first time, accompanied by a guitar. AND guess what the name of the church was. . . The Church of St. Nicholas! Ha!

Sometimes things don't seem to go our way. That's what comes with the territory when we are not God. He is always working. He is always moving. He is redeeming. He is restoring. He is purifying. He is creating. He is faithful to complete the good work that He began in us! Next time things don't go our way, let's keep this mind. Maybe He's got something MUCH bigger and better planned.