Singing in the Dark

Season: Your Map to Joy | Topics: Grief & Death , Young Women

Claire Black: Welcome to True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us, one drive at a time. Buckle up! You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus.

Hey True Girl, this season we're following “Your Map to Joy”—one step and one verse of Psalm 30 at a time.

Have you joined the Holy Girl Walk memory challenge yet? Each week, we're inviting you and your mom to walk and memorize God’s Word together. Psalm 30:1–5 is our map, and we’re learning that joy isn’t about perfect circumstances—it’s about knowing Jesus is with you, even when things feel hard.

Remember, the True Girl subscription box shipping this month contains an actual map for your Holy Girl Walk that guides you through Psalm 30. Plus, it includes devotionals, a mom-daughter date idea, and a lot of …

Hey True Girl, this season we're following “Your Map to Joy”—one step and one verse of Psalm 30 at a time.

Now, have you ever sung praise to God when you really didn’t feel like it? When it’s dark outside—or dark inside your heart?

In today’s episode, Dannah and Staci are taking a night walk under the stars. It’s quiet. It’s beautiful. But it’s still a little . . . dark. They’re going to talk about what it means to sing in the dark and why God sometimes calls us to do just that.

Let’s head out under the stars and join them on the trail.

Staci Rudolph: Okay, okay, so we’ve got Moose the dog leading the way, Frankie the Great Dane glued to Cassie the mini-donkey like she’s her emotional support animal . . .

Dannah Gresh: They are basically the same height.

Staci: Yeah, but only one of them has giant banana ears and hooves.

Dannah: And only one of them snores louder than my husband.

Staci: That’d be Frankie! Hope she didn’t keep you awake last night!

Dannah: Not at all, Staci.

Staci: Are you sure this is safe? I mean, it’s dark out here!

Dannah: Oh yeah. We do this all the time. Look at Moose. He’s a total pro. He’s off sniffing trees and acting like it’s the middle of the day. And Cassie’s good. We needed her for the donkey pack!

Staci: What’d you pack in there, Dannah?

Dannah: You’ll see.

Staci: Will I? I mean, it’s pretty dark!

Dannah: I told you, it’s a theme experience. Psalm 30 is written about experiencing joy in spite of the darkness. And today’s verse . . . let me see if I can recite it. It says, “Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.” So, I just thought we’d come and sing out here under the night sky!

Staci:I don’t think the Psalm is about literal darkness, Dannah—like walking-outside-in-the-middle-of-the-night dark! It’s more like not-having-a-good-day kind of dark! I think I could get the picture during sunlight.

Dannah: Indulge me. I just think we can learn something by walking in the dark and singing.

[Coyote calls in the distance. Everyone stops; dead silence, even the animals.]

Staci: Okay . . . that was not a cricket!

Dannah: Yep, that was a coyote.

Staci: Did you bring snacks? Because I think we’re about to be the snack.

Dannah: I actually did bring something to snack on, and it’s about to come in super handy.

Cassie, come here, girl. I need what you’re carrying there.

Don’t worry. I came prepared. Never go on a Holy Girl Night Walk without a trusty fire log and a lighter.

Staci: You brought a fire log?!

Dannah: Not just a fire log, a Super Flame fire log! It’s a brand that lights on the first try! Never go packing at night without it.

Staci: Ohhhh, yes. Here’s some sticks. That’s better—warmth, light. Coyotes hate fire, right?

Dannah: Exactly. It’s why we’re safe now. And, it gives me the perfect excuse to dig into my backpack.

Staci: You actually did bring snacks?

Dannah: Of course I did. For Cassie, a carrot. For Moosie and Frankie, two bones. And for us, marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers! And, extendable s’more sticks! Want some?

Staci: I thought you'd never ask.

Dannah: You know, this whole thing kind of reminds me of a story in the Bible. Paul and Silas were in a dark place too, but it wasn’t a field. It was a prison.

Staci: Oh, right. They were arrested for talking about Jesus, weren’t they?

Dannah: Yep. And they were thrown into a dark, cold jail cell—feet in chains, backs sore from being beaten. If there was ever a moment to feel scared and hopeless, that was it.

Oh, it’s really one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I wish I’d brought mine.

Staci: Well, that log of yours did take up some space in your donkey backpack. I gotcha. Let me pull up the Bible app on my phone, Dannah.

Dannah: It’s Acts chapter 16, if I’m not mistaken.

Staci: Sure is. Okay, so the jailer “put their feet in stocks.” Oh, they were locked up good. Let me start here in Acts 16:25:

Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Wow! They didn’t cry; they didn’t grumble; they sang. Just like Psalm 30, verse 4.

Dannah: Yeah. You know what’s amazing about this? Paul and Silas weren’t singing because they felt good. They were singing because they believed God was still good—even in the dark, even in chains. Singing in the dark reminds us that our joy doesn’t come from our circumstances—it comes from Jesus. And sometimes, singing is how we fight back against fear and sadness.

And while Paul and Silas were singing . . . well, just go ahead and read it!

Staci:

Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

Dannah: You know what’s just as surprising as the singing? When the prison doors flew open, Paul and Silas didn’t run. They didn’t rush out into the light. They stayed in the dark, right where they were—waiting to see what God wanted to do next.

That takes a lot of trust. Sometimes God doesn’t just rescue us from the dark—He meets us in it. And like Paul and Silas, we can choose to stay close to Him and wait, even when we don’t understand what’s happening. Because we believe something good is coming—even if we can’t see it. So praising God in the dark changes things.

Staci: Exactly. It doesn’t just change the situation—it changes us. It reminds our hearts: Jesus is still with us. And that brings us back to Psalm 30:4.

Dannah: “Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.”

This is something we’re supposed to do in the dark moments of life—not when everything is going just right.

Staci: It’s hard to sing when it’s dark. I don’t just mean outside. I mean when it’s dark inside your heart, when you're sad or scared. It feels impossible.

Dannah: Yeah. I know that kind of dark.

The morning Trigg died, it was still dark outside when I walked out to the barn. The sun hadn’t come up yet. I had a feeling it might be the day.

He was down in his stall, just lying there. Peaceful. Resting. And I realized—I had a few quiet hours alone with him before . . . well, before I had to say goodbye.

So, I laid down next to him, right there on the straw, and put my head on his neck. I cried. I prayed, “Jesus, please help Trigg feel my love—not my sadness.” Because horses—like Trigg—they can really feel your emotions. They just know.

And while I was lying there, Psalm 30 came to mind. I thought, This is my prison cell. This is the dark. I don’t want to be here. But Paul and Silas sang.

So, I sang.

Staci, it was one of the saddest days of my life. But as I sang to Jesus, I felt Him with me. It didn’t take the sadness away. But it wasn’t quite so strong and terrible with Jesus beside me in it.

Staci: Wow, Dannah.

That’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. I think sometimes singing in the dark isn’t about changing anything around you. It’s just about knowing you’re not alone in the dark.

Dannah: Exactly. And that’s what brings us back to our definition of J.O.Y.—Jesus Overcomes for You.

That’s why we can sing in the dark, because Jesus is right there with us. He’s already overcome everything that tries to bring us down—even death.

Staci: And the coolest part? That kind of joy doesn’t just help us, sometimes it helps other people see Jesus, too.

Dannah: That’s what happened in the rest of the story about Paul and Silas. Let’s read it:

Staci:

The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” Then they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.”

Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.

He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

I love that part of the story. Paul and Silas had to go through that dark night so the jailer could see Jesus with them! And the jailer and his whole family wanted Jesus because of the joy they saw in Paul and Silas.

Dannah: I have someone in my life who doesn’t know Jesus. I’ve prayed so many times, “Lord, let them see You—not just in the happy things, but in the hard things, too.” If they’ve been watching me walk through this sadness, I hope—I really hope—they’ve seen Jesus beside me in it. Because that’s what I want more than anything: for them to believe in Him, too.

Staci: You know what I believe, Dannah?

I believe this is one of the best s’more’s I’ve had in my entire life! I don’t even care that my marshmallow is half-burnt.

Dannah: Some people say that’s the best kind. Crunchy on the outside, gooey in the middle.

I prefer mine lightly browned and melted to the core.

[Donkey brays]

Staci: Cassie agrees, apparently!

Dannah: She’s the official judge of s’mores on the Gresh farm!

Staci: You know what, Dannah? This is really nice. Even though it’s dark, I feel safe. I feel joy.

Dannah: That’s what happens when Jesus is near . . . even in the dark.

Staci: Hey, wanna sing a little?

Dannah: I’d like that. How about Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so.

Claire: Today we talked about what it means to sing in the dark—to praise God even when life feels heavy. And there’s a mom who’s been living that truth in the most beautiful way.

A few years ago, Colleen Chao was diagnosed with cancer. Her son Jeremy was still so young. She wanted to leave him a book to help him grieve, to know how to walk with God through pain.

And she did. She wrote a book called Out of the Shadow World, meant to help all kids process grief.

But Colleen is leaving Jeremy with something even deeper: songs. Colleen has been singing Scripture with Jeremy, filling their home with the promises of God—even as they’ve walked hard times together.

Colleen and Jeremy singing:

I lift up my eyes to the hills from where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth.

Claire: That’s what Psalm 30 is all about. It reminds us that even in the darkest moments, God is near . . . and joy is coming. We can remind ourselves of that by singing.

True Girl, it’s really hard when you lose someone you love. And it’s really hard when that someone is a parent. But Psalm 30 is a comfort for days like that. It reminds us that weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Colleen and Jeremy singing:

The LORD is the shade at your right hand;
The sun shall not scorch you by day, nor the moon by night.

Colleen’s book, Out of the Shadow World, is a story for kids walking through hard things. It might be an encouragement to you or a friend who’s experiencing grief or a serious illness.

We hope you’ll be back next time. Dannah has a really wonderful surprise to share about how joy did come in the morning!

And now, let’s close with the voice of Colleen and her son Jeremy—still singing, still trusting.