How can I keep from Singing?

I often read the daily news, like this recent piece in the Washington Post on the seemingly impossible situation in Iraq, and have an overwhelming sense of sadness.  The world seems so unbelievably broken, I can tend toward complete hopelessness.

In fact, I’m positive that the only way the world will be rebuilt, if at all, is by faith.  Father, give me faith to pray with expectancy, "Your Kingdom Come."

Long ago, early Baptist minister Robert Lowry penned a worship song that to this day is one of my very favorites.  I like it because it realistically portrays hope in an otherwise hopeless world.

Here’s the first stanza of Lowry’s "How Can I keep from Singing":

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth’s lamentation

I hear the sweet though far off hymn

That hails a new creation:

Through all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul —

How can I keep from singing?