By: Nikki Poulton
Music is incredibly powerful. It has a way of moving the heart that nothing else does. Music can bring joy, sadness, contentment, new perspectives, anger, and everything in between.
Recently, music has been bringing me something different – closer to God, and deeper understanding of His word.
Music and the Bible
Take for example the song, ‘Rest for Your Soul’ by Austin French. It talks about deeply human issues – having questions, having burdens, and feeling lost, and this brings Matthew 11:28-30 to life. The first verse says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”. Sometimes, in the midst of troubles when rest feels far away, it is very easy for this passage to not sink in.
Music has a powerful way of bridging the gap between our head knowledge of Scripture and our heart. The song uses the emotive power of music to help this passage connect with us. It gently reminds us that Jesus promised to give us peace and that His burden is light through powerful vocals, a lilting melody, and using Scripture as the basis for the lyrics.
Listen and Sing
I really recommend finding two or three Scriptural songs that resonate deeply with you. Save them in a playlist and listen to them when your feelings don’t line up with the truth of Scripture. Use them to remind you of God’s sovereignty and the call of Jesus to come to Him with burdens. To get you started, two of mine are ‘Satisfied in You’ (Psalm 42) by the Sing Team and ‘It Is Well With My Soul’.
The direction to sing is in the Bible at least 50 times. The power of music to emotionally affect and connect with us is not a coincidence. We can, and are commanded to, use this amazing gift of music to worship our Father in heaven, whose burden is light, and who promises His perfect peace to us. For me, God’s peace and joy is never more prevalent than when I am worshiping through song.
Article supplied with thanks to 1079life.
About the Author: Nikki is an admin and digital trainee at 1079 Life and studies Marine Biology at university.
Feature image: Photo by Tadas Mikuckis on Unsplash