Are you tired of worrying? Is much of your life spent considering the worst that could happen, rather than the best? Is there an ongoing fear of the next phone call, the next day of work, the next relational challenge that faces you?
click here to download as a Facebook cover photo; quote design by joel klampert
I know much about the feelings above. I’ve struggled with severe depression since I was in junior high school, and it has only been in the last few years that I have begun to experience more joy, more peace, and more energy than I had known in all the years before.
There has never been one silver bullet that fixed everything inside, all at once.
Prayer, diet, thyroid medication, a certain brand of ginseng supplement, new jobs, exercise, age, and changes in vocation have all helped.
But far outweighing them all has been my pattern of personal, musical worship.
It is the closest thing I have found, other than caring for someone else in need, to a silver bullet in my lifelong battle.
Worship, entered into willingly or painfully, attacks the fear within right at the core, and breaks it down.
I sit down at the keyboard, or with my guitar, and I sing the songs of Zion – the songs of Home.
If I’m not near my instruments, I fill my headphones with songs I deeply resonate with, believe, and that point me to Jesus.
I don’t turn to my “art” songs in these moments. I turn to my “faith” songs that will direct me Home.
And I sing.
And I sing.
And I sing.
I sing with the car windows down.
I sing on the mountain where I run.
I sing in my house when no one is there but God and me.
I sing until I lose myself in truth, in love, and in worship.
I worship until the worry is absorbed into the presence of God.
Find your songs. Find your space.
And sing until the fear bleeds and Hope flows once again through your veins.
“6 The Lord will write in the register of the peoples:
‘This one was born in Zion.’
7 As they make music they will sing,
‘All my fountains are in you.'”
Psalm 87:6-7
Question: Can you recall a moment when fear gripped you, and then you sang until something changed? What song was it, and what happened in you? Leave a comment by clicking here.