saturday
AUGUST 6
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS LESSON
Humans communicate their emotions in a variety of ways. Oftentimes, verbalizing is not enough, so we find other ways to express ourselves, such as through the various arts. Some people express themselves through words and writing; others through music or through painting, sculpting, drama, and so on. For me, it’s music. I’m not talented enough to write music, but listening to music can move me in ways nothing else can. And I’m sure I’m not alone. Music can express our joy, sorrow, anger, passion, and just about any emotion in between. Any one of us can probably think of a song that would be appropriate for any mood or occasion. Because music can touch so many of us at such a basic level, we need to be careful what types of music we listen to.
David expressed his innermost thoughts and feelings through music. The book of Psalms is a collection of his thoughts, as well as the thoughts of others, set to music. While we don’t have the actual musical accompaniment for the Psalms, we do have the words. Reading through them, we can see David’s feelings of joy and exhilaration (Psalm 100), sorrow and despair (Psalm 38), anger (Psalm 58), and contrition (Psalm 51). Almost all of these psalms were sung to God. It’s as if He were David’s confidant and best friend, and his own personal therapist. David wasn’t afraid to express everything he was feeling directly to God. Music was the language of David’s soul and an integral part of his own personal worship of God.
Today, music is still an essential part of worship. Whether it’s singing hymns of praise with an entire congregation, writing a song and performing it in the sanctuary of your own living room just for God, or simply meditating on the lyrics of a song during your quiet time with Him, music can function as a language for your soul to communicate with God. Just as David shared with God whatever was on his heart, so we can offer to God our praise, our thanks, our frustrations, our desires, and our requests. This week, as we look at worship in the Psalms, look each day for a psalm that resonates with what you’re feeling. Let that psalm remind you that, just as it was with David, God speaks your language too.
Today, music is still an essential part of worship. Whether it’s singing hymns of praise with an entire congregation, writing a song and performing it in the sanctuary of your own living room just for God, or simply meditating on the lyrics of a song during your quiet time with Him, music can function as a language for your soul to communicate with God. Just as David shared with God whatever was on his heart, so we can offer to God our praise, our thanks, our frustrations, our desires, and our requests. This week, as we look at worship in the Psalms, look each day for a psalm that resonates with what you’re feeling. Let that psalm remind you that, just as it was with David, God speaks your language too.
No comments:
Post a Comment