In life we all experience a shift as we mature. I know that this is true for me. Songs that at one time spoke something of significance to me no longer apply. I have shared before that when Jack and I are traveling, usually going west, we like to listen to the songs from the 70’s. Listening to these songs works for a bit, but then we realize that we have changed, but the songs have not. They just do not breathe life into our spirits.
Often we are amazed by the lyrics, lyrics that are not only depressing, but surprising as well. Now all these years later it is like hearing lyrics for the first time. The refrains may be familiar, and the bridge that brings it all together, but the theme was somehow lost to me. If the sound was good enough to dance to it was all I wanted. Disco anyone?
Listening to Christian music has changed my ear for the better. I don’t just listen to listen, but I listen to feel encouraged and to worship. I want songs that declare who God is and who I am because of Him! And yet, that too has changed for me.
Forty years ago Christian music was very different than it is now. We sang familair hymns and old songs if we were in traditional church settings, but the Jesus Movement from the 60’s and 70’s was making its mark with a new type of worship. From my perspective, many of those songs were still asking God to give us what we were certain we needed and clearly lacked.
Now I sing of God’s unconditional love for me with a heart that relates to a different song. My song now pours out of a heart that is thankful, a heart that is in deep relationship, a heart that wants to give to God and not just get what I can from Him.
I want to be in partnership with God. Working alongside of Him. Meeting the needs of the people that He brings across my path that need to know something of Him. People that need to know that the Father is real, that He is ever present, and that His heart is full for all of His creation. I want people to know that they can sing to God and that their song will bless the Father.
Psalm 40: 2-3 NLT He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.