Music to Sooth the Soul

                                                    
                                  “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
                                      How long will you hide your face from me?”
                                                              (Psalm 13:1)

Do you ever feel like this psalmist did? Do you ever want to hide your head under a pillow until the bad stuff all goes away? Do you ever think that God is somewhere else—not paying attention to your pain?

This psalm, attributed to David says what some of us feel sometimes. I’ve been there. I was sure at those low times that God had abandoned me. And when I got to those places not much helped.

But let me tell you what finally did help: music. Actually, it was old, old hymns—some of which most of you probably don’t know. Old hymns like “Sunlight,” “Sweet Peace, the Gift of God’s Love,” “He Keeps Me Singing,” and “Trust, Try, and Prove Me.” They may not be classical or traditional, but they soothed my soul and helped me come to a point of trusting again.

When I sang those old songs (sometimes just in my head) I began to feel like the psalmist at the end of this same psalm. “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (vss. 5-6)

That’s all I have to say this month. Well, no, I guess it’s not quite all. If you are at a place where you feel like the first four verses the psalmist wrote, try singing a hymn you love. One from your youth or childhood might help. “Jesus Loves Me” is a good one. And see what happens in your next minutes, days, weeks!