How can music banish a bad mood and transport us to a place where problems, cares, fear, sometimes even pain (and certainly time) don’t exist? For a moment there’s just that beat, or lyric line, or bass, or …plug in your own thing– it’s magic. I’ll be feeling down but if a song comes on that rocks, something changes–and even babies know the feeling:
https://youtu.be/naz6tUIVxPI
Melodies can spark our spirits, balm our hearts, mirror something of our soul, and sometimes floor us. Who needs Ecstasy when some tracks are flat-out orgasmic?
And Music also heals Socially…
Just think: when we rock to the same jam, things like Race, Gender, ‘Status,’ etc., disappear. Love takes shape in a sea of people grooving. Unity, peace, joy, no fear, no shame, No Problem.
Are these Holy Moments?
Just check this clip of strangers rocking in the NYC Subway after the 9 to 5. Or watch an Armin van Buren concert… We all become One– we glimpse Heaven on Earth…
When you are rocking, God rocks too..
I used to think God could only be “worshiped” through “Christian” music and I started believing good, God-revering music had a certain sound. My Drum&Bass tracks didn’t fit and I purged CD cupboards. Worst of all, I found myself withdrawing from those who played or promoted “wordly” music– I got religious, another way of saying confining, and a gateway drug to hardness of heart. I lost myself, but God intervened.
A Rainbow needs all her colors to shine. Do you ever feel awkward or not sure how you “fit”? Yellow can’t quit because she’s not Blue. Green may feel out of place, but needs to rock it. And Red is not better than Orange or any other color. All need to Show Up.
After my rescue I started finding God in all sorts of music, not just Christian. But most frightening, I started hearing *Him sing back to me, even in love/praise/”worship” songs I was singing to Him.
Should we be surprised? Isn’t Love a two- way street?
This may ring like blasphemy to some, but check the bible: God is a singing God (Zephaniah 3:17), God is Love (1 John 4), and our hearts are the greatest object of *His Affection (countless verses…). Do the math.
Can we accept that if every human being is made by God, and we are all so wildly different, including our musical preferences, that God must be a varied God?
Bumblebee from Transformers used his radio to communicate to Sam. Why couldn’t God do the same, and More??
During depression, God-therapy came through “Happy” by Pharell (the video alone is a God-Glimpse). I’ve heard God sing about His willingness to sacrifice everything for me in “Yellow” by Coldplay. When dealing with judgement and misunderstanding of others God came along side through Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off.” (that one is straight from the Bible, eg Mark 10:14)
There’s so much more and I hope to posts loads in this series–what songs would you like to see debunked?
Note: Not all songs touch God’s Heartline. Some say we’re unworthy of love, or promote fellow humans as mere pieces of meat. Some try to make us believe money and things are life’s priorities, or that infidelity is cool. Others may reinforce division and hate. Use your discernment and heart, they are mighty, God-given gifts. (And always feel free to engage God about anything. Any thing.).
So let’s get practical: Listen to this track with an open heart and see if you can’t hear God/Love/Jesus speaking (“I was on my knees when nobody else was praying” is so reminiscent of Hebrews 5:7…). Sure, the music style may not be yours, and you may have judgements about the artist, but that’s the same with God: so much oppression, hurting, killing, taking health insurance, etc. has been done in *His Name or by those claiming to be *His people (“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” -Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:8)–we have to break through ages of crap to glimpse *Him.
The video becomes more relevant as it shows the artist perpetually covered by the interpretations, opinions, and ideas of others.
And about the title: if there’s an epic battle raging between Love and Hate aka Good versus Evil, then “Where Are You now?” rings like God’s/Love’s plea for all hands on deck… All colors in the Rainbow…
Are Ü in?
Take courage and loosen some constraints you may have placed on God. Limiting *Him limits You, and God was/is/has always been about Freedom.
What tracks have you surprisingly encountered God in? Want to see some handled in this #GodSingsBieber series? Leave a comment and let me know!
*I use He/His as pronouns for God but fully recognize God with male and female ‘identity’ (for lack of a better word), as evidenced throughout the Bible and blatantly by the human race. If you want to contemplate more, check this two-part post, “Transgender God,” here.
Want to read more God & Your Freedom? Check:
- God’s Glass Elevator
- Submissive God? 3 Bible Versus Exposing Mankind’s Freedom that may Blow Your Mind
- Who Would You Rather Rule? Jesus or a Pharisee
- Born to be Free (from the #WildKidsWildGod Series)
- Puberty of the Soul