One year ago, my husband and I found ourselves in a crisis, and we needed to sing.
Acutely troubled with a single enormous decision and with the cascading effects of the secretive actions of others, we were also extremely isolated, unable to discuss almost anything with almost anybody (other than our lawyer) for 73 days. Most of that time, we stayed in our house.
The first Sunday of that isolation, we were really struggling with our locked-up thoughts and emotions. Although in normal circumstances we would have gone to church in person, we watched our church’s morning worship service online in our living room that day. We struggled to concentrate.
We had already been reading the Psalms, praying, and discussing the matter for several days, and we knew in our heads that we were going to be okay. God’s goodness would never fail us, no matter how circumstances intensified. But our bodies and emotions were slow to catch up. We needed joy. We needed to feel the peace, not just to think about it.
So we sang. I love to sing and Scott just likes it enough most of the time, but we didn’t hold back. We stood in front of the TV screen and streamed a playlist of songs that I had put together about God’s trustworthiness.
As we sang, we visited with the Lord in a back-and-forth conversation. We listened, prayed, presented the weight of our cares, and gratefully acknowledged him as trustworthy. Quiet and steady, he listened, received, and encouraged. No thunder. No lightening. No emotional rush. Just presence and peace.
Music isn’t magic, but neither is it just neutral data. Singing in worship to the Lord is something different. Scripture abounds with instruction and examples about singing to the Lord.1 It is one of the types of activities considered to be a means of grace within the Wesleyan tradition, an opportunity (like taking Communion or reading the Bible) that the Lord has designed through which we can draw near to him and experience his drawing near to us. Author Jonathan Powers points out that singing as a means of grace has emotional power because it involves our entire beings (body, mind, and will), helps us to recall God’s faithfulness, and connects us to other believers.2
All of those benefits of singing were real to us that day. Our list was a quirky mix of styles and genres reflecting our personal histories. As I compiled it and as we sang, we thought not just about the words alone but about where we were, who was with us, and what God had been doing when we first sang them years ago. We remembered revivals and camp meetings and Sunday night services all over the place. We recalled with thankfulness God’s goodness toward us and others through the twists and turns of our journeys. We couldn’t help but feel connected to the church in all its shapes and sizes around the world and throughout the ages—people who have trusted God along with us in their own crises and who have found him faithful. Our brains were lighting up with the logic and mystery and memory of God, and our hearts were, too.
The selection of music that we followed is so personal and deeply enmeshed in story that it probably will not appeal to everyone, and that’s OK. I share it here in case it might be a resource for someone out there feeling the weight of circumstances today. If that’s you, I hope you’ll find a private place, or invite a friend, or maybe create your own playlist, and then just sing it out.
Singing didn’t fix our feelings on that Sunday morning. They were still pretty raw. But we had visited with our closest friend. Our hour of singing had emphasized the point that we had needed as the three of us—Scott, the Holy Spirit, and I—gathered together in front of the screen and cooperatively lifted the need to the throne of God. He’ll join you in your struggle, too.
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- I Have A Maker3
https://youtu.be/7UhQEjmVfBc?si=usfCdfo0R84oWuQ-
- My Hope Is Built5
https://youtu.be/DWdNgXSd46Y?si=TkABeIwD0AY9fBc4
- You Are the Same God6
https://youtu.be/7UuM3X4VToI?si=-vGTVii4X8MxlnYG
- Great Is Thy Faithfulness7
https://youtu.be/0k1WhFtVp0o?si=oBm6UXzK1IiMdWV7
- Firm Foundation (He Won’t)8
https://youtu.be/x9ndiD0_qNk?si=CElEW8fMwjDLABcp
- O God Our Help in Ages Past9
https://youtu.be/jOewYw3ejkM?si=pFh9CBW0P7GVQ-37
- I Will Make the Darkness Light10
https://youtu.be/dreybe6oMCo?si=Rcs9yFbCbKkyrCu1
I will make the darkness light before thee,
What is wrong I’ll make it right before thee,
All thy battles I will fight before thee,
And the high place I’ll bring down.
Refrain
When thou walkest by the way I’ll lead thee,
On the fatness of the land I’ll feed thee,
And a mansion in the sky I’ll deed thee,
And the high place I’ll bring down.
With an everlasting love I’ll love thee,
Though with trials deep and sore I’ll prove thee,
But there’s nothing that can hurt or move thee,
And the high place I’ll bring down. [Refrain]
Although Satan in his rage would tear thee,
And with all his winning arts would snare thee,
Even down to thine old age I’ll bear thee,
And the high place I’ll bring down. [Refrain]
I will make the darkness light before thee,
I will make the crooked straight before thee,
I will spread my wings protecting o’er thee,
And the high place I’ll bring down. [Refrain]
- Higher Ground11
https://youtu.be/YnAOaYrh76M?si=6n_s4FTBCuZA5IiN
I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
Refrain:
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith, on heaven’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground. [Refrain]
I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught a joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground. [Refrain]
I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.” [Refrain]
*I included lyrics only for the videos that do not display them.
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1. For just a few examples among dozens, see Exodus 15; Psalm 71:23; 132:9; 96:1-2; Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19.
2. Jonathan Powers. (June 1, 2018). “Five Reasons Why We Sing In Christian Worship” [blog post]. Accessed on Seedbed website at https://seedbed.com/five-reasons-why-we-sing-in-christian-worship/#:~:text=Singing%20is%20a%20means%20of,attitude%20of%20grace%20toward%20us
3. Tommy Walker. 1996. Doulos Publishing.
4. Brandon Lake, et al. 2019. Bethel Worship Publishing.
5. Edward Mote. 1834.
6. Brandon Lake, et al. 2022. Elevation Worship Records.
7. Thomas O. Chisholm. 1923.
8. Chandler Moore & Naomi Raine. 2023. Maverick City Music.
9. Isaac Watts. 1719.
10. Charles Price Jones. 1865-1949.
11. Johnson Oatman, Jr. 1856-1922.
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