Whistling Past The Graveyard

"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7-8

History records that "The RMS Titanic sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into the ship's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at around 23:40 (ship's time) on Sunday, 14 April 1912. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 (ship's time; 05:18 GMT) on Monday, 15 April, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime marine disasters in history." One of the most memorable stories of the sinking of the Titanic is the story of the 8 bandmembers who continued to play music as the "unsinkable" ship descended into the depths of the ocean. It is not clear as to why the band members continued to play, but Titanic Survivor, Charlotte Collyer, provides a clue. “They kept it up to the very end. Only the engulfing ocean had power to drown them into silence. The band was playing ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee.’ I could hear it distinctly. The end was very close.” The song, Nearer, My God, to Thee, is a 19th-century hymn said to be written in reference to Genesis 28, where Jacob had a dream in which God spoke to him. In the dream, God tells Jacob, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Genesis 28:15)." One might surmise that the band members had a faith in God that led them to continue playing music to the point of it costing them their lives, perhaps in order to calm themselves and the passengers in a traumatic situation. Could it be that the song they played was their way of showing their trust in God as they played for the last time? There is an old saying that describes this type of circumstance. It is called "Whistling past the graveyard." To whistle past the graveyard means "to attempt to stay cheerful in a dire situation; to proceed with a task, ignoring an upcoming hazard, hoping for a good outcome. To enter a situation with little or no understanding of the possible consequences." Graveyards can be scary places to the average person. They conjure up fears of death, ghost stories, zombies rising from the dead, monsters, and a host of other things that go bump in the night. The image of somebody whistling past the graveyard is that of a person trying to calm their fears through whistling a comforting tune.

In scripture, we see numerous examples of God delivering His people from times of trouble. Whether it was Noah being saved in the Ark from the Flood, God turning evil meant towards Joseph into good, a young David being handed victory against the giant Goliath, Daniel not being consumed by the man-eating Lions, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego being saved through the fire, or a host of other situations of God's faithfulness to His people. However, God's faithfulness doesn't require His children to be rescued from death. There are times that we are rescued through it. The death of Jesus Christ resulted in all of mankind having the chance to be reconciled to God through faith in the Lord. Peter was showed the type of death He would suffer for his proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews reminds us of those who "were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. they went about in sheepskin and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated--the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground (Hebrews 11:37-38)." Going to be with God in heaven is the ultimate form of deliverance. In many instances, those facing tribulation would praise the Lord in songs and hymns. In Acts 16:25, the apostle Paul is in prison. The Bible records that "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:25)." Paul and Silas knew that God was with them and this knowledge resulted in a peace in their hearts that manifested in them signing hymns to God. Furthermore, did you know that the Old Testament book of Psalms is composed of songs and poems meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument? Tribulation in life is as guaranteed as the rising and setting of the sun. There is no way around it. In fact, Jesus Christ promised that in this world we would have tribulation. Therefore, do not be surprised when it comes your way. And when it does, let it remind you that regardless of the outcome God is with you through it and will be with you forever. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can be assured that God is our hiding place. With Him, you can rest from your troubles and in that, be surrounded with songs of deliverance that will burst forth in praise for our mighty God. Even when your ship is sinking you can whistle past the graveyard because "He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever (Psalm 146:6)."