Music That Touches the Soul
I’ve avoided writing about this topic for a few reasons. For those of you a bit unfamiliar with my past, I was a music education major for four years and involved in band for a total of ten years. I loved music with my whole being, and still do. I didn’t stop participating because of a lack of passion or disinterest, I was simply called by God to pursue a different avenue in which I could display His glory and share His love with others. So it almost feels as though I’m writing about an old friend who I lost contact with yet still think about fairly often. Within this, I hope you see how music shapes the soul, inspires the heart, captures our gaze with it’s ripe melodies, and points us back to a God of immense beauty.
A RETURN HOME
Have you ever heard a song that made you stop because it immediately brought you back to a moment or season in life where everything was seemingly perfect? For me, that song is Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus written by Helen Lemmel (I know, I’m a bit of an old soul). The whole song is utterly gorgeous, filled with rich harmonies and a lush melody to get the attention of all who hear it. But there’s one line that gets me every time that reminds me (and hopefully you too) that God is good and will keep you in His caring arms till eternity’s end, “His words shall not fail you, he promised. Believe Him, and all will be well.” These lyrics don’t mean we won’t face strife, or that tragedies won’t strike us in the dark of the night; it means that whatever you’re going through in life, the promises of God will hold fast because He is a God of faithfulness that satisfies every desire because of His pure goodness. We receive this divine love by belief in Jesus who died for you and I, so that we would receive the righteousness He’s forever had and experience the joy given by the Father, received by the Son, and experienced through the Holy Spirit. That’s a gift that will never cease to leave you feeling thankful and return your heart to it’s home found in the comfort and joy of God’s heart.
THE GIFT OF SINGING
Maybe you’re a person who loves to put on a show for others and sing the night away or you’re more like me and completely happy singing by yourself alone in the car where no one but you and God can hear yourself. Whichever side of the line you find yourself on, I want to draw a picture for you.
There’s a room of people of different ages, races, ethnicities, social statuses, socio-economic levels, all singing their hearts out. With one voice, in harmony, proclaiming one message. A message that was once hoped for, yet was invisible, but has now become a tangible and physical reality before their very eyes. The message contained a story of a full life, deep relationships, a humble heart, and resounding joy. What could this message be that could unite any kind of person? It’s the message of a God who has come down to earth, wore flesh, befriended others, acted in love, submitted to his Father, and made it possible for everyone in the room to have meaning and redemption. It’s the message that, no matter what they have done in their life, God has come to renew everyone and give them a new life guided by His very own Spirit. Because of this they utter with their lips, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty…” (Rev 4:8).
For you and I, this can and will be real. The path of righteousness was forged by the only One who could walk this path to its perfection. The path that eventually led to death on a cross that only God Himself could bear. What must we do to get a taste of this righteousness that Jesus Himself has? Believe Jesus to be the forgiveness for our sins because He is lovely and good in all things.
THE DIVINE DANCE
Music is meant to make you move. Good beats, a nice voice, and away the body goes. There isn’t much like dancing to the rhythm of the music and experiencing what the power of music does to you. Yet there’s something greater to be experienced when grasping how God moves in the midst of our lives.
When taking a glimpse at someone’s life, you begin to see the ways God has been present since their first breath. But even more miraculous is that God has been good even before you and I were even created. Here’s a picture of the most beautiful thing I could ever imagine: There’s God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, interacting with each other in perfect unity and perfect distinction. Jesus Christ is experiencing the kindness, compassion, gentleness, humility, and glory of His perfect Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father is experiencing love from the Son who is just like Him in every way, yet still different. There’s a kind of love in this that’s utterly glorious. No creation has been made, but out of Their shared heart, They decide to make creation. They create the prancing gazelles, the vibrant kingfish who’s domain is all of the air, and then you and I, who are made to look like the One who created us. All of creation is made by the Father’s voice speaking things into existence (Gen 3:1), the Son’s imminence and fulfillment of the Word being spoken (John 1:3), and the Spirit molding the world so that it wouldn’t just be a place of chaos, it would be a world of splendid beauty that points to a God who is infinitely beautiful (John 1:3).
Within all of creation being made, Jesus thought of you. Not a hypothetical person to one day exist, He thought of you specifically, the very person reading this right now. He chose every one of His children before the world was ever made (Eph 1:4), and might that be you? Step into the divine dance that God has experienced for all of eternity that contains nothing but spilled over love of God to satisfy your every desire. There is nothing better, and the sacrifice you must make is honestly seemingly too simple. It’s to believe. Believe who Jesus is, what He’s done on your behalf, and acknowledge the grace He’s bought for you.
If you’re a believer, much of this is just a reminder for you, but if you aren’t, I am praying that you would make the choice to choose God, or at least begin thinking about what I’ve written today.
PRAYER
Father, there are a multitude of reasons why we don’t acknowledge who You are. Whether it be our forgetfulness of your faithfulness, our tendency to lie or hold back truth when we don’t acknowledge Your holiness, our desire to avenge when we forget you’re a God of justice and righteousness, or we begin to doubt Your goodness when our world comes crashing down because of the sorrows of life. But today I have one prayer for me and everyone reading, Jesus be big. Be big enough to squander any reason to forget that You’re here for our joy, happiness, and even for our glummest of days. That You care for our souls infinitely more than we could even fathom. May we see You as big enough to turn to in every season, even when it seems like we shouldn’t. Simply because You’re God, and we are not.