Music is life-giving. Music can effect moods. In 1 Samuel, the servants of Saul understood that music was a powerful antidote to spiritual oppression, which is what the Lord uses to bring David into the court of the king. In many other places in Scripture, we find examples of the weapon of song being used to combat depression, guilt, etc. but not only to fight the bad, but to spur on and replace what is wrong with what is right; joy, repentance, etc. Singing worship songs that declare truths about the greatness of our God, lyrical theology as it were, has a way of setting our minds right and lifting our spirits. We can see wonderful examples of this throughout Psalms, especially David's writings (Psalm 22, 130, 131; to name just a few). David sings his confessions as he is honest with God about where his heart is at, but he doesn't stop there. He turns his eyes from himself and fixes them on the Almighty and his perspective is set right. In the same way, as we bow down in holy surrender before the righteous King of the universe and glorify His name, our struggles are put in their place. There are times, however, when we feel the reality of our inability to do this by ourselves and we are unable to find our joy and peace in the all-sufficient goodness of our great God (it goes without saying that this does not imply any failing on Christ's part, because He never fails us). It is at these times that fellowship with fellow believers is vitally important. We have to come alongside and encourage one another, stirring one another on to good deeds (we also need to press on in our personal times and not give up because it has become difficult to find joy in Christ, Who is the only complete and satisfying joy). In Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18b-20, Paul says, "be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," (ESV) and again in Colossians chapter 2 verse 16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." (ESV) This might look different for all of us, but here are a few ideas: sharing a passage of scripture (the Bible is a source of encouragement for any season of life), a song via a music streaming service, singing truth to one another -- if that's weird, even texting or reading a song lyric to a friend. A great example of this comes from the recent track by Hillsong titled "Good Grace:" //don't let your heart be troubled/hold your head up high/don't fear no[sic] evil/fix your eyes on this one truth/God is madly in love with you/so take courage hold on/be strong remember where our help comes from// (doesn't that just put a smile on your face??)
and, better yet, from Scripture itself:
Psalm 9:9-10 "The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." (ESV)
Isaiah 26:3-4 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." (ESV)
Those are only two of the myriads that can be found in the living and active Word. Scripture is full of life-giving passages.
I apologize, I have been jumping around quite a bit, but I will leave you with this:
Be active in searching for ways to encourage our brothers and sisters. Christ is risen, He is alive, and He is our joy. He is our life and, as long as we are in Him, we have this source of life -- the only source of true life -- to share with others. So let's be life-givers. Encourage the body of Christ with song.
The Desiring God website has a phenomenal article written by Pastor John Piper about "ambushing Satan with song." It was written way back in 1985 but is still extremely relevant and encouraging and speaks to how our singing in worship actually can combat our spiritual enemy. I cannot recommend it highly enough (you can either listen to or read the transcript of it). It says what I am trying to say in a much more eloquent way (I mean, it's John Piper, so duh, but still).
til next time,
Simeon
