December 18
	And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
	Revelation 14:2-3
Why could no one else sing the song of the 144,000? Because they alone went through testing and tribulation — yet maintained their integrity. Thus, they alone could sing of what they were able to observe the Father do on their behalf in the time of Tribulation. Every one of us goes through times of tribulation. God’s intention is that they might produce in us ‘as it were, a new song’ — a symphony ... There they were — in a damp, dark dungeon — without even a crust of bread to eat or the ACLU to plead their case. Yet what were they doing? They were singing. At midnight — in the darkest hour — Paul and Silas sang. They weren’t singing to try and get God to do something. They sang simply because the Lord was with them, and they were happy (Acts 16:25). ‘Well, that hasn’t been my experience,’ you might be saying. ‘My marriage’, or ‘my job’, or ‘my health is a dungeon to me, and I’m not happy.’ Precious brother, dear sister — God’s intent is to give you a new song. But there’s one thing which will stand in the way: sympathy. You see, I can either go through challenges and hard times with a symphony in my heart because the Lord has promised not only to strengthen me in them (Isaiah 41:10), but to walk with me through them (Matthew 28:20) — or I can choose to get sympathy from people. If I choose to tap into sympathy, it will always be at God’s expense because the underlying though unspoken implication is that what is happening in my life is out of God’s control. God is totally, absolutely, completely faithful to meet us in every trial, in every difficulty. Don’t let His plan get short-circuited by those who say, ‘I feel sorry for you.’ Instead say, ‘God is good. Sure, what I’m dealing with right now is a challenge — but I am discovering the Father is exactly Who He claimed to be — a God Who comforts me completely.’ It’s tempting to let people feel sorry for us, but we mustn’t, because it puts God in a bad light. Don’t settle for sympathy, gang. Go for the symphony.