10 minute read
with Songs
from Spring 2020
SOOTHE YOUR SOUL WITH SONGS
The healing power of music. by Terry Powell
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Scene 1: 6-7 Years Ago It happened out of the blue, as I strolled through the den.
An unseen force suddenly penetrated my chest cavity, got a vise-grip on my heart, and squeezed forcibly until tears began flooding down my cheeks. No, it wasn’t a heart attack. It was the song my wife was playing on her piano in the living room. I couldn’t name the song, nor remember the lyrics, yet God’s Spirit was already using it to soothe my downcast spirit. I knew without a doubt that I had previously heard the song, and that its message had thrown a lifeline to me at a time when sea waves billowed, and I was drowning in sorrow.
My eyes moist, my chin trembling, I walked to the piano and asked my wife Dolly, “What is the title of that song? Please tell me.”
“The Anchor Holds,” she answered. “We’re singing it this Sunday. The choir sings it every year before taking a summer break.”
The following Sunday, this reserved, non-demonstrative, Presbyterian worshipper stood up, held his arms high, and wept uncontrollably as the choir sang the stanzas and chorus: The anchor holds, though the ship is battered. The anchor holds, though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees, as I faced the raging seas. The anchor holds, in spite of the storm. Imagine...the Holy Spirit massaged my heart with a song, even when I didn’t recall the title or the lyrics! Scene 2: July 16, 2019 After his four-day visit with us, I drove to Charleston, S.C., and reluctantly handed off my eight-year-old grandson to his mom. As I began the 120-mile return trip, I turned on the car radio. Typically, I keep the dial on a sports talk station, but the signal wasn’t reaching that far from my home in Columbia.
What I heard, instead, was a choral rendition of the hymn, “Be Still My Soul.” For the next hour, the Christian station played one renowned hymn after another: solos, duets, some by choirs—all performed by excellent voices. Among the hymns that I heard were How Great Thou Art, Like A River Glorious, and It Is Well With My Soul. Again, the Holy Spirit employed music to soothe my soul. Tears clouded my eyes. Despite heavy rush hour traffic, my spirit had been ushered into the presence of God.
For an hour, out-loud prayers erupted from me. One song spawned praise. Another inspired intercession for my grandson and for my two grown sons. Yet, another prompted me to confess.
Admittedly, my heart had been dry for weeks. Although I had been reading the Bible and praying regularly, my recent times with the Lord had been brief and perfunctory. Each morning, I hurried to resume a major writing project. How gracious God’s Spirit was to me during the drive home, fueling my mind and heart with biblical truth through the lyrics. The front seat of the car became holy ground.
THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC Martin Luther, the catalyst of the Protestant Reformation, knew the value of music to sustain faith and help people focus on the character of God. He wrote, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest resource in the world. Music is one of the most glorious gifts of God, to which Satan is a bitter enemy, for it removes from the heart the weight of sorrow and the fascination of evil thoughts.”
An emphasis on worshipping God through music stitches together many pages of the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms. For example, Ps.104:33 (KJV): “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” Tucked into a psalm prompted by persecution he experienced, David nonetheless wrote, “My lips will greatly rejoice when I sing praises unto thee” (Ps. 71:23, KJV).
In the early church, songs offered not only praise to God, but mutual encouragement among the believers. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16).
Singing sustained Paul and Silas during a rough night in a Philippian jail. They had been beaten with rods, and their feet were fastened in the stocks. Yet they buoyed their spirits by “singing hymns of praise to God” (Acts 16:25).
A Christian blogger, Martha Hays, testifies to the help of music during difficult times. “Music that comes directly from the Word of God is medicine for the soul. God’s words can bring healing, comfort, and encouragement like no other, but pairing those words with beautiful melodies implants them in my mind as well as my heart. The words get ‘stuck’ in my mind, and throughout the day, in times of need, I sing the Scripture to myself.”
Dr. Michelle Bengtson, who wrote a highly regarded Christian book on depression spurred by her own experience, adds, “Listening to praise and worship music helped me to hold on when my grip was failing.” At the end of each chapter of Hope Prevails (2016), she provides a playlist of songs that ministered to her during her despondency.
My purpose is not to offer a comprehensive treatment of what the Bible says about music; rather, I want to extol its value for hurting people, whether the pain is physical or emotional. Even when our inner turmoil makes formulating a prayer difficult, hearing a song, or our own singing, offers a way to express faith, and to sense God’s presence during difficulty.
When God’s people are hurting and praying is difficult, Christian music is a means of God’s sustaining grace. What we hear or sing reminds us of who God is, what He has done, and what He promises to do.
IDEAS FOR A PLAYLIST OF ENCOURAGEMENT
I realize that any list of songs that offer comfort to the hurting will omit someone’s favorite. Yet I’d be remiss if I did not give you some song titles that comfort during difficult times.
Hymns: “God Moves In a Mysterious Way” “It Is Well With My Soul” “Like A River Glorious” “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” “How Firm a Foundation” “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
LISTENING TO THE MUSIC Psalm 98:1-6 encourages us to sing and offers reasons why. Examine these verses and make a list of all the reasons.
For this Psalmist, one thing that inspired singing was remembering past deeds of the Lord in relation to Israel. He has “done wonderful things” (vs. 1). He has shown “faithfulness to the house of Israel” (vs. 3).
Right now, perhaps you are hurting due to physical discomfort, the loss of a loved one, or discouragement in a circumstance you cannot control. To counter this pain, look over your shoulder and rekindle memories of God’s past faithfulness to you, to your family, to your church, to your school, or to your business. How has He acted on your behalf? Find a song that has buoyed your spirit at some point in the past. Or ask a worship leader for titles. Then, listen to the music and sing along.
By praising God in song for what He has already done, He will strengthen your faith for any current trial or stressor.
Terry Powell teaches church ministry courses at Columbia International University in S.C. Additionally, Terry is an author and has recently launched a new blog on faith and depression: penetratingthedarkness. com—an excellent firsthand resource on depression. You can contact Terry at terry.powell@ciu.edu.
Ministry on the Go Invite a friend to lunch or coffee and just listen. Contemporary Songs: ”Through It All” (Andrae Crouch) ”Humble King” (Vineyard Worship) ”Blessings” (Laura Story) “Hold Me Jesus” (Rich Mullins) “Before the Throne of God Above” (Selah) “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord” (Matt Redman)
Lyrics Based on Biblical Texts: “Oh God, You Are My God” (Psalm 63) Fernando Ortega “Hiding Place” (Psalm 32) John Michael Talbot “Lord, From Sorrows Deep I Call” (Psalm 42) Keith & Kristyn Getty “I’m Trading My Sorrows” Daryl Evans “Psalms” Shane & Shane (Volumes 1 & 2 of songs based solely in the Psalms)
~Terry Powell
Sometimes we think our journey with God depends on the power of our faith in the One who calls us. But that isn’t true. God’s faithfulness doesn’t depend even remotely on the quantity or quality of our faith. God is faithful, regardless of how much or how hard we believe.
Is the problem, when it comes to following after God in good times and hard, really our own fear of not hearing clearly? Or perhaps our own autonomy and desire to be the director of our own pathways?
Our ability to leave and our willingness to follow depend on that final phrase, “I will show you.” If God could show Abram, then God can show us. We watch, and keep walking. On those lonely nights that throw hand-shadows of questions on the walls, flip doubt on its side and turn to God’s faithfulness. Rest there. Tomorrow’s another day, another Genesis, another beginning in the book of all our beginnings.
Maybe it’s time to lace up those sandals. God’s calling and faithfulness haven’t changed, nor the invitation into lives of significance. How do we know? God promised.
Excerpt from Finding Your Promise: From Barren to Bounty—the Life of Abraham by Jane Rubietta. Copyright ©2015. Published by Wesleyan Publishing House USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Jane Rubietta is a pastor’s wife and mother of three children. She speaks internationally and has written 20 books, including a four-book daily devotional Finding, set through the book of Genesis. For more information, see JaneRubietta.com. If I’d been away, I would sometimes surprise my boys for lunch at school. I put encouraging notes, Bible verses, or cartoons in their lunchboxes, even when I was traveling. This simple gesture continued through high school, and if I forgot a day, look out! They and their friends were waiting to read what crazy cartoon I’d tucked in the lunchbox. diffuse difficulties Preparation is a good antidote to guilt. If you spend time preparing, whether for a presentation at work or for your family in your absence, you spend less time feeling guilty. None of us can be everywhere at once, but we can be prepared. establish expectations for yourself that are reasonable Think of some expectations you place on yourself and ask, would I place the same expectation on a friend? God wired us each uniquely, so the best daily expectation you can place on yourself is to seek God’s will. Be realistic. You’re not perfect, so set goals of excellence, not perfection. You don’t have to be the best at everything you do. Do your best and move on, sans guilt.
Setting expectations with our children is also important. When we’re tired and maybe feeling guilty over something, we need to be clear and consistent with our expectations of them; otherwise, we confuse them. Has any other mom taken a guilt trip offered by their kids? When we accept these guilt trips, we establish unhealthy patterns for them and us.
When a well-meaning older woman questioned me about going back to work after having our first child, it stabbed my heart. No mother wants to feel her choices are hurting her children. We all have examples of times when people’s insensitive comments have inflicted guilt or caused us to question ourselves. Learning to recognize and reject false guilt has set me free.
I don’t like losing. But losing at the guilt game is something I enjoy. Want to compete for last place?
Ministry on the Go Leave extra money at a coffee shop to pay for the next person who comes in.
Lisa T. Grimes is a Managing Director of Habergeon, LLC, co-author of Remember Who YOU Are, and CEO of PurThread Technologies. She serves as Board Chair of Knowing God Ministries, Inc. and Lighthouse Ministries. Lisa and her husband live in Cary, NC. They have two adult sons and a daughter in law.
