The Power of Music

     So, this week as I was thinking about what topic to blog on, one idea just kept coming back to me:  The Power of Music.  Now, if you've been following the blog since the beginning, you know that we've talked a lot about the power of music to connect us to God and to each other.  And if you've served in any type of leadership role within a church music and worship ministry over the past 20 years, then you also know how music can cause divisions, arguments, and even church splits.  People love to argue over music styles, traditional hymns versus praise and worship songs, and even what instruments are appropriate for worship (organs versus guitars).  But with this blog I would like for us to look at a couple of aspects of music that we often forget.

     In 1 Samuel 6, the Bible says that the Spirit of the Lord had left King Saul and that he was now being tormented by an evil spirit of fear and depression.  Some of Saul's servants believed that music could soothe his soul.  So, King Saul told them to find him someone who plays well.  One of his servants responded by telling him of a young man named David who was very talented on the lyre.  King Saul sent for David and David soon became the king's armor bearer.  Along with this, it says that whenever the tormenting spirit would trouble Saul, David would play his lyre and the king would feel better and the tormenting spirit would go away.  Now there are 3 things I want us to see from this story:

1.  Music has the power to soothe the soul.  Whenever David would play his lyre, Saul's soul would be comforted and refreshed.  Sometimes I believe we forget that the music we play and sing can help bring comfort to people's souls.  What a wonderful gift that we can give!  It's easy to get caught up with the latest and greatest songs or styles of music, but sometimes we need to remember that the people in our churches are struggling with life and they need comfort for their souls.  We can help with that by simply playing music.  Amazing!

2.  Music has the power to drive away evil.  Whenever David would play his lyre, it wasn't enough that Saul's soul was comforted, the Bible also says that the evil spirit was driven away.  Just think about that.  The music we play and sing in church can actually drive evil away.  That's pretty cool!  So remember that the next time you are playing or singing music in church.  You are helping to drive away evil.

3.  David was very talented.  He wasn't just your run of the mill lyre player.  The Bible says that he was very talented.  One translation says that he was "gifted".  I don't believe that David was making a "joyful noise".  He knew what he was doing with his lyre.  And for us to truly be used by God to help bring comfort to people's souls, I believe that we've got to be talented on our instruments as well.  Too much is at stake for us to settle for just being ok.  We can play a role in bringing comfort and peace to people's souls, but we need to make sure that we are prepared to play our part.

     What an awesome privilege and responsibility we've been given!  The power to soothe souls and drive away evil can be found in our music.  Wow!

Worship Big!

Brad