MY WEAPON IS A MELODY
Six months ago I wrote a blog that talked about my word for the year being, “Adventure.” Oh, what an “adventure” this year has been. I had no idea!
We can talk about COVID 19 and how it has turned our lives upside down. We can talk about social injustice and racial tension. We can talk about school starting and how hard it has been for teachers, administrators and staff, as well as all our students. We can talk about hurricanes, tropical storms and fires. We can talk about the upcoming election.
So much to talk about. So much to worry about.
I always have songs playing in my head. It’s part of being a musician – and definitely part of being a minister of music. Back in March, I started a “COVID 19” songlist for church. It’s on a piece of paper from a legal pad, and is full of songs that express our need for God, His provision for us, and the hope that we have in Christ. I’ve kept adding to this list over the past six months, and we’ve sung many of them in church.
Here’s just a few on the list…
All My Hope (is in Jesus)
Blessed Assurance
God Is Able
God You’re So Good
In Christ Alone (My Hope Is Found)
It Is Well
Lord, I Need You
My Anchor
Never Once (did we ever walk alone)
Raise a Hallelujah
The Lord Our God (is ever faithful)
The Solid Rock
Waymaker
There are so many more that are on my list, and I’m sure that you could probably add a few of your own.
These songs remind me of the very reason we, as Christians, come together on Sundays and sing. We sing to remind ourselves of who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised to do! When we sing these things, we encourage one another and we also proclaim these things to people who may be hearing them for the first time. There is power in singing!
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody,
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me.
I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar.
Up from the ashes, hope will arise.
Death is defeated, the King is alive.
These lyrics from the song, “Raise a Hallelujah,” by the folks over at Bethel Music, have come to my mind many times in these last months. We’re in a battle, and we need effective weapons.
So when the darkness invades, when worrisome thoughts attack, fight them back with a song and the truths we know from Scripture. Here’s a song straight from the Bible – Psalm 100. We may not know its original melody, but the lyrics still remind us of our hope in a gracious, faithful God…
Psalm 100 – Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
