A song came to mind recently during a Sunday morning church service. The pastor was speaking about a verse of scripture and it reminded me of one of the songs I sang in a college choir. The lyrics of the song come straight from scripture, and over the years, they have become a section of scripture that I cannot read without singing. And there are many other songs from pages of the Bible that I have in my head, all learned in church youth groups and choirs.
I’ve always been so grateful for the years I spent in these groups. So many songs are stuck in my head because they were sung over and over again, week after week, concert after concert. Over the years, the music worked its way deep into my heart and mind and pops up, I’m starting to realize, especially when I need a word from God.
I have always associated happy memories with these songs and have been grateful for all the times that the songs bring to mind. But I realized recently that I have taken the songs for granted and have failed to see just how precious they truly are.
All of these songs were chosen by God especially for me. All of them are musical moments that He carefully picked out knowing they would mold me and shape me and care for me for the rest of my life. And they have. I have wandered away from God many times, for long periods sometimes. But the songs never left me and have never stopped coming to mind.
Sometimes I’m very hard on myself and only see the many really bad decisions I’ve made, along with the resulting consequences. I think that all of the orchestrating of my life during those times was done by me and that as a result, I had blocked Him from directing me or communicating with me.
But that’s not true. He wrote these songs of scripture into my heart because He created me to have a passion for music even during those times when I had tuned Him out. He knew what He was doing by giving me the desire and the many opportunities to sing these songs. I did not make that happen! I was only following the longing for singing and playing music that God created me to have.
I have messed up more times than I ever thought I would. But that’s not my whole story. And even when I was far from God, He was still singing these holy lyrics into my heart where they would, over time, take root and grow deep and large, giving me shelter, encouragement, direction, comfort, and joy. Over and over again He has sung over me bringing me back to Him, reminding me of His presence in my life. I know these songs by heart because it is He who placed them there.
“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17