A Faith Journal

Another repost from 2023. While everything still holds true, I think some music has the ability to create multiple emotions, sometimes all at once. There are days that a song will cause me to fondly look back at a memory and smile, but the same song the next time I hear it could cause sadness. Music evockes the emotions that we physically, emotionally and spiritually need to express in that moment. When we are able to express our pent up emotions, peace can be felt. It doesn’t always make sense but you can almost guarantee a lighter mood after a good release of emotions.

The phrase “music soothes the savage beast” is true. Studies have found, and I’m sure many parents everywhere would agree, that singing to a baby soothes them better than talking to them. This is true for many of us. Listening to music helps us process our feelings. For example,  for some people, listening to rock or metal music calms their anger. For others, including me, it makes them angry.

Music has long been used to express our emotions. The book of Psalms is a good example of people expressing their emotions through poetry and songs (Psalms 57:7,135:3, 61:1) . There is just something about finding a song that speaks to how you are feeling. When our words fail us, music can release emotions and give us peace. It can also be used as a prayer when we struggle to talk to God.

It is because music has such a way of connecting to our hearts and minds, that we need to be careful of what we listen to frequently. For example, when I listen to music or videos that contain a lot of curse words, my filter relaxes a bit. I’ve noticed that with more curse words and less of a filter, I start cussing more. I don’t think cussing is necessarily bad, but it can get excessive and lose its significance. When I notice I’m cussing more, other filters or boundaries are lowered, and I can start down a path to anger and/or depression. For others this may not be the case, but we each must be aware of our boundaries in music and life.

I pray you find music that gives you peace and a way to speak to God. He gave us music as a gift to do so. Be sure to thank Him for music and the power it has over our emotions. By the way, Christmas music is part of the reason this time of year can feel so magical. The songs all bring to mind memories of the past, which add a tint of nostalgia to everything we do throughout the season. So, when listening to music with others this Christmas, help them be able to experience good memories the next time they hear the song.

Lord,
Thank you for giving us many ways to express to you how we are feeling, especially music. As we listen to all the Christmas music this season, help us remember all the good times from our pasts and show us how much we have grown since then. When we are feeling the stress of the season, place a song in our hearts or mind to relax us and give us peace. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

P.S. Google how music can make peace possible (music and peace). There is too much out there to add to these posts. Just a quick summary though is that when people connect with music, they see the humanity of those they share a connection with musically (national anthems for instance).