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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Day 10: Psalm 59:16

"But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble." ~Psalm 59:16 NIV

This verse reminds me of the story of Paul and Silas. That one time in Acts when they were stuck in a prison cell, and they started singing. Singing praise to God. And *crash* all the bonds fall off! The doors are open! I mean, I have a hard time imagining that Paul and Silas experienced exactly 0% fear in all of the time that they served God. Every time they got stuck in another situation they probably had a grumpy feeling in the pits of their stomachs, a wisp of fear in their hearts. But I suspect they had mastered the art of redirecting their fearful thoughts to thoughts of God.

Music is extremely powerful. I recall going on a ski camp three years ago. It was the first time I'd been skiing since I'd been a second grader! I was worried I'd fall and break something (like my left arm, or my legs). I didn't have any poles either, since I was borrowing skiis. And, woe is me, I had learned with poles. Needless to say, I was stressed and anxious. So I sang under my breath - almost the whole time I was on the slopes. Don't ask why, but whenever I was on those Alps, Relient K's "Less is More" was on repeat in my head. And it gave me courage! I was reminded that God was there, watching over me. (More thanks to the fact that it was a worship song than thanks to the lyrics...) I was going down a red slope, the second level, and one of my ski buddies crashed into me. Bloop! Down we both went, me head-first. I crashed onto my chin, and had a horrid jaw-ache afterwards - but I was fine. I firmly believe God's angels were hard at work there, the whole trip.

Often I notice when I'm nervous like that I start singing "Less is More" in my head. That song has become my wordless prayer, the one I sing when things start going over my head. When there's only God to trust, that's the background noise in my head. Playing soccer at recess, I often twist my ankle sorely - that's the song that goes on in my head. Once while playing on the concrete, I tripped over my brother and slammed full speed on my side into the concrete. I couldn't breathe, my body was in such shock. Yup, my inner playlist had singled down to "Less is More."

Moral of the story (and the above verse): when afraid, sing!

I have a feeling that God made our bodies in such a way that when we sing we release tension, causing our muscles to relax, our bodies to release stress and worry. When in a car accident, being loose lessens the chance of a fatality, which is why drunk drivers often come out of the incidents they cause unharmed - an intoxicated body is extremely relaxed, because all of the sensory data is confused and the body is less able to recognize and respond to danger. Strange, but true! (So I've heard, anyways.) If we sing of and to God, who will be a fortress where we can hide, we can remind ourselves that He's hearing, listening and actively taking part in our lives. Besides, praise serves as a great reminder of who's on our side - an awesome, incredibly loving God.

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