Ever felt as if God was speaking to your through a song? Like, it’s as if the words you’re hearing, the very words you’re SINGING, are words that He fully intended for you to hear. Just as God once inspired the human hand to pen His word, I believe He continues to whisper in our ears, to fill our hearts, to guide our hands. I believe He’s still here. I believe He’s still moving us and shaking us and inspiring us to communicate HIS message of hope, His message of grace.
HIS message.
There was a time when I paid little attention to the lyrics of a song. I didn’t care WHAT the artist had to say. I just liked the music. I liked the sound. I liked how it made me want to move. I liked how it made me feel. I liked it at a surface level. I was NEVER prompted to go any deeper. I didn’t care about the artist. I didn’t want to know if there was a story behind the song. I didn’t care.
I look back now at some of the songs I used to sing around the house and I’m like, “What was I thinking?” The problem was, and I believe STILL IS for many of us, I DIDN’T CARE. It was just another mindless activity. Like holding your arm in the air while lying down on the couch. Or bouncing your leg while sitting in a chair. Or chewing the skin around your fingernail. I do it without THINKING about it. Seriously! Who wants their 6th grader singing about “O.P.P.”? Yeah, not good…
At first, I was highly resistant to Christian music. I thought it was LAME at best. It all sounded the same. I imagined each artist singing with a smile and an arm raised and it just turned me off. Change the radio station. Turn on talk radio. Listen to classic rock. ANYTHING but this (or country)! Then I attended a “contemporary” church and for the first time I SAW the lyrics to the songs. I stopped listening to the MUSIC and started to hear the WORDS.
I realized the power of music wasn’t found in MY preferences, but in the words. What about the songs without words? What about those instrumentals? Again, the power wasn’t found in MY preferences, but in the story the artist was trying to tell, the picture that was being painted. The mood. The ambience.
I was reminded of this last night, when I purchased the album “Aftermath” by Hillsong United. The first time I listened to it, which was a few months back, I didn’t “like” it. I had become so accustomed to their LIVE sound that I was unwilling to listen to a studio mix. LAME, right? I was an idiot. Again, MY preferences got in the way.
It’s not about me.
It’s not about what I like.
It’s ALL about Jesus and HIS story.
He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:3 NLT
HIS message.
There was a time when I paid little attention to the lyrics of a song. I didn’t care WHAT the artist had to say. I just liked the music. I liked the sound. I liked how it made me want to move. I liked how it made me feel. I liked it at a surface level. I was NEVER prompted to go any deeper. I didn’t care about the artist. I didn’t want to know if there was a story behind the song. I didn’t care.
I look back now at some of the songs I used to sing around the house and I’m like, “What was I thinking?” The problem was, and I believe STILL IS for many of us, I DIDN’T CARE. It was just another mindless activity. Like holding your arm in the air while lying down on the couch. Or bouncing your leg while sitting in a chair. Or chewing the skin around your fingernail. I do it without THINKING about it. Seriously! Who wants their 6th grader singing about “O.P.P.”? Yeah, not good…
At first, I was highly resistant to Christian music. I thought it was LAME at best. It all sounded the same. I imagined each artist singing with a smile and an arm raised and it just turned me off. Change the radio station. Turn on talk radio. Listen to classic rock. ANYTHING but this (or country)! Then I attended a “contemporary” church and for the first time I SAW the lyrics to the songs. I stopped listening to the MUSIC and started to hear the WORDS.
I realized the power of music wasn’t found in MY preferences, but in the words. What about the songs without words? What about those instrumentals? Again, the power wasn’t found in MY preferences, but in the story the artist was trying to tell, the picture that was being painted. The mood. The ambience.
I was reminded of this last night, when I purchased the album “Aftermath” by Hillsong United. The first time I listened to it, which was a few months back, I didn’t “like” it. I had become so accustomed to their LIVE sound that I was unwilling to listen to a studio mix. LAME, right? I was an idiot. Again, MY preferences got in the way.
It’s not about me.
It’s not about what I like.
It’s ALL about Jesus and HIS story.
He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:3 NLT
- He GIVES us the song.
- The song is to PRAISE God.
- The song TELLS what God’s done and LEADS people to trust in Him.
Music is POWERFUL. Music is HIS. I don't care what genre, how explicit the lyrics, how it sounds, nothing, it’s ALL HIS! I’d argue that His influence varies from song to song, but regardless, it’s all His. I missed out on this principle for a LONG time. It’s His.
What have you been listening to lately? Whose influence is evident in the music you listen to? Who’s leading and guiding your day?
What have you been listening to lately? Whose influence is evident in the music you listen to? Who’s leading and guiding your day?
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