“Music is an agreeable harmony for the honor of God
and the permissible delights of the soul.”
– J.S. Bach
Music has a tremendous effect upon the spirit and the soul. Because of its incredible power, it can bring healing, peace, inspiration, joy, hope, and exhilaration on one end of the emotional spectrum. On the opposite end, music can produce sadness, turmoil, fear, aggression and other negative feelings.
Music is an art like no other. It helps give expression to the deep emotions of the human soul. It crosses all cultural boundaries and transcends other sensory experiences.
Martin Luther said, “Music is a gift and grace of God. Beautiful music…can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”
There is a certain type – and most likely, many types – of music that will resonate with your soul.
Think about the kinds of music that minister life to your spirit. Which types of music soothe your soul? Make you feel happy and carefree? Bring back sweet and pleasant memories? Energize or exhilarate you?
Music can help you cope with various situations in life. For the most part, we will listen to music that elicits the emotions we want to feel.
If we need motivation to clean the house, we can blast some fun, upbeat and energetic music to help us along. When we need to soothe a crying infant or child, we sing soft, gentle lullabies that have a calming effect on them. And if we’re sad, rather than “singing the blues,” if we will begin to worship and praise the Lord from our heart, the burden will be lifted and joy will come!
In fact, anointed music can change circumstances and situations in the blink of an eye:
We read in 1 Samuel 16:16-23 that when David played upon the harp, the evil spirit that troubled King Saul left. Saul was soothed and the oppression he experienced left him.
In 2 Kings 3:15, when Elisha needed to hear from the Lord, he sent for a minstrel to play for him. And as the minstrel played, the hand and power of God came upon Elisha and he spoke forth the word of the Lord.
What about when Paul and Silas were imprisoned and at midnight, they prayed and sang praises to the Lord? While they were singing there came a great earthquake and the foundations of the prison was shaken, the doors were opened, and their shackles fell away (Acts 16:25-26).
I could go on and on with examples from the Bible of the power of praise and worship, but that’s not the point of this section.
My point is, in the cultivation of your soul, you must find the music that ministers to you specifically. Then fill your home and your life with it on a regular basis!
Play it yourself, listen to the beautiful (or soon-to-be-beautiful) music of your children practicing their instruments, blast your favorite CDs throughout your home sound system, or simply pop some earbuds into your ears and listen to your iPod or mp3 player.
Study music appreciation. Listen to the masterworks of composers throughout the ages.
Take in live concerts or symphonies on a regular basis. Join your church choir or praise team and sing beautiful songs of worship to the Lord.
Allow the gift of music to lift your mood, quiet your spirit and satisfy your soul!
This post is excerpted from my book, A Life That Flourishes. Click on image below to purchase.
