Chances are, you are not too familiar with the name Willie Myrick. He isn’t an actor or star. But several years ago, he grabbed the headlines of major news outlets because of astonishing circumstances.

Ten-year-old Willie was playing outside his home in Atlanta, Georgia, when he spotted some money on the sidewalk. As he bent down to pick it up, an abductor who had planted the money as bait, shoved Willie into a car and took off.

While that by itself is a scary story, here’s where the astonishing part comes in. For the next few hours, as the kidnapper drove around, Willie did something superbly unusual and brave. He sang non-stop. For three hours straight, the scared little boy sang the gospel song, “Every praise is to our God,” without pausing to let the fear sink in.

He ignored the threats of the kidnapper who repeatedly told him to shut up. He just kept singin’. Maybe the song was a coping mechanism in an intense time. Whatever the reason, Willie was a broken record stuck in praise mode. Finally, after three hours of hearing the song on repeat from Willie, the kidnapper grew so fed up that he pulled the car over and let Willie go free.

The brave boy fled to the nearest house he could see and was eventually reunited with his family.

When I heard the story years ago, I was amazed. It was scary and heartwarming at the same time. But then I realized that this was more than a story. It was a lesson for me.

Here’s the thing: Willie didn’t wait till he was free to sing praise. He lifted up his voice right in the middle of his super scary situation.

The incident reminds me of the story in Acts 16 where Peter and Silas have been thrown in prison. They had just been stripped and beaten. And then pushed into the inner cell of the jail which, I assume, was reserved for the most violent criminals. Their feet were fastened in the stocks. This is not a pretty picture. The unsanitized version probably involved blood, disfigurement, intense pain, foul smells, and pitch darkness.

But Peter and Silas did the highly unconventional and crazily brave thing: they sang hymns to God and ministered through music to the other prisoners. They were restrained by their shackles and yet they rejoiced. All of a sudden, the prison doors flew open and everyone’s chains were loosed.

Friend, here is my encouragement to you today. You may feel trapped in a scary or dark or deeply unfair situation. But when there’s no way out, God finds His way in. Into our hearts. As we let the joy of the Lord seep into our hearts, may we respond with songs of praise.

In Willie Myrick’s case, he was let go by his kidnapper. In the jail with Peter and Silas, chains fell off and prison doors swung wide open. We probably will never understand how praise sets us free. But it does.

We don’t have to pretend that life is perfect. But even in our dark situations, we can still perceive and receive His blessings.

We may not have chosen a certain road to travel down and that beat-up car for our ride or even our co-passengers but we can remind ourselves of His goodness. We can rehearse His truths in our hearts. Or, we can pull a Willie Myrick and sing His praise on repeat.

 

PS: Click here to listen to the song ‘Every Praise is To Our God’ by Hezekiah Walker that Willie sang for three hours. It’s one of those songs that will make you want to dance through the doldrums.

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