You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullnes of joy, at
Your right hand are pleasures forevermore 
—Psalm 16:11

In the book Ministry of Healing, we
read, “[God] has a song to teach us, and when
we have learned it amid the shadows of
affliction, we can sing it ever afterward.” Unfortunately, many of us are struggling to
sing that song of praise to God through life’s
afflictions, because our hearts have been
drawn away by other dangerous but alluring
songs. The song of worldly wonder, the song
of unbelief, the song of doubt, the songs of
bitterness or busyness, the song of superficial pleasures, or the song of self-suf iciency. These songs don’t seem deadly at first, for the enemy has covered them in a beautiful, attractive disguise, but they are dangerous because they lead us away from Jesus. As I
consider the enemy’s deceptive songs, which are leading so many to shipwreck of faith, I’m reminded of a story told by the ancient Greek poet Homer. Homer wrote in his legendary work the Odyssey about the singing Sirens. As legend had it, these mythical mermaid-like creatures lived on an island in the western
sea between Sicily and Italy, and as ships would pass, they would lure the sailors in with


their sweet seductive songs, until coming too close to shore, the ships would be dashed to
pieces on the rocks. However, as the story goes, one captain named Ulysses came up with a brilliant
idea. To avoid the danger, he ordered his men to fill their ears with wax so that they could
not hear the Sirens’ song. While the men obeyed, everyone was miserable, for they knew
they were missing out on incredible music. But Captain Ulysses knew it was the only
way to save the ship and his men. However, not far behind Ulysses’s ship was another ship and another
captain who had an even better idea. As this second ship neared the coastline of the
dangerous Sirens, Captain Orpheus took out a beautiful instrument and began to play. Everyone on board the ship drew near spellbound by the beautiful melodious song
coming from his instrument. As he played, in no time, without his crewmen even
realizing what had happened, the dangerous Siren coastline had passed by out
of sight. It was only then that the captain concluded the beautiful song that he had
composed. As a result of his beautiful music, not a single person on
board the ship had been tempted by the Sirens’ song. In fact, no one had even
heard it.Yes, the Sirens’ music was alluringly sweet, but the all-wise and loving
Captain Orpheus had played for his men a sweeter song, and in so doing, had
saved their lives. Learning to hear the sweeter song
“So how do we learn to hear and sing the sweeter song?” you may be asking. “How do we avoid getting swept away by the alluring music of the enemy of
our souls?” The answer is simple! We learn to hear and sing the sweeter song when we
spend time at Jesus’ feet. As I’ve heard it said, “Seeing Christ for who He is
awakens such a sweet savor for God that sin completely loses its power.” You see, Jesus is singing us a sweeter song. And when we turn our eyes
and ears toward heaven and listen to the Master Musician’s sweeter song, we
will no longer be taken captive by the deadly allurements of the world around