The Power of Music

A major rite of passage, at least of sorts, occurred in our home last Friday…Ethan got his saxophone for middle school band. When we went to meet the band director, she encouraged Ethan to play the trumpet, but he was not interested. You see, I was a trumpet player myself, and though he didn’t want to offend me, he wanted his own experience. After some contemplation, he chose the saxophone. With eager anticipation, we ordered him a rental saxophone and waited with baited breath for its delivery.

We got home with the sax on Friday after school, and with all the excitement of a Christmas morning, he unpacked his horn and carefully assembled it. After moistening his reed, he placed it in the mouthpiece and blew, producing a pretty decent tone for his first time. Within a couple hours, and without any formal training, he was playing noticeable parts of the theme song to The Pink Panther and The Streets of Cairo, which you might recognize as the stereotypical snake charming song.

There was a sense of pride Tiffany and I detected in Ethan as he began to get the hang of this new passion. The more he played, the more I could see something happening in him…the music wasn’t just emanating from the horn, it was coming from his soul. I know personally there have been numerous times when I have gotten lost in a powerful song in a worship service, a great concert, while in my car, and even while vacuuming my living room. This brings to life a great quote from Heinrich Heine that attempts to define this transcendental shift, “Where words leave off, music begins.”

Music has a power that penetrates parts of the soul in ways words alone cannot reach; this is the reason we use music in worship services. Once music breaks through some of those inner barriers, the Word of GOD is able work its way deep within and do its transformational work of changing us from the inside out. Sure we may not know, or even like, all the songs we sing in worship, but if we allow worship to do its job, we are preparing ourselves to receive the word of GOD as it is read and proclaimed.

Music is very important in the Bible. Throughout Scripture we see instances where music was used to prepare people for battle, call people for ministry, comfort people in pain, inspire people for great works, and challenge people out of their self-defined comfort zones. Music was, and still is, used in a myriad of ways to help us devote our entire life in worship to GOD! One of my favorite images in all of Scripture comes from Zephaniah 3 when we get a glimpse of how life will be when all of GOD’s people turn back to Him. Then we read verse 17, and it’s one I doubt I could ever reflect over enough, “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17, NLT, emphasis mine)

Friends, this is an image I absolutely love! Think about GOD singing over you and how that heavenly lullaby must sound. Think about the LORD, the Creator of an ever-expanding universe, who wants to cradle and sing songs over you, songs that only He knows! Like Ethan moving into a transcendental state while playing his new saxophone for the first time, I can scarcely imagine the glory of GOD’s singing over me, lovingly calming my fears, and sharing with me His holy gladness.

So next time you hear or sing a powerful song lifted up to GOD, think about GOD also singing over you. Imagine the melody. Imagine the lyrics. And imagine the life-changing power of GOD’s own song, penetrating deep within your soul, changing you from the inside-out. This is the power of music…this is the power of GOD. So let’s lift our lives as songs to the LORD, and listen for the songs being sung over us.