And my soul is amazed
By this gift of Your grace
And these arms that take me in
Sweet Jesus, my Savior
You are my faithful friend
Sweet Jesus, my shelter
You are my faithful friend
The refuge that I run to
When my world comes closing in
Why should I be afraid
When I know I am saved
By the arms that take me in
Sweet Jesus, my shelter
You are my faithful friend, oh yeah
Sweet Jesus, my shepherd
You are my faithful friend
You hold me, You lead me
I’ll follow till the end
And once more I will say
On that beautiful day
When Your arms take me in
Sweet Jesus, my shepherd
You are my faithful friend
Sweet Jesus, my Savior
You are my faithful friend 
~Sing this song with me as part of your prayer and worship today~
There are times when I listen to a song and peace that truly passes beyond my understanding floods through my heart (my inner self). I am sure that I am not alone in this, yes? Truly I believe that music is a gift that God has given to His people. And I believe this not based on my own experiences…though, just like you, we each have multitudes of remembrances of times that godly, Scripturally-based music has been a comfort, a blessing, a balm to our souls. It is what the Scriptures tell us about music that is what I can count on…no matter what.
The psalmist, David, (who we KNOW had an immense love for and gifting of music) found that music could bring spiritual deliverance and peace.
- to King Saul
So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul,
David would take the harp and play it with his hand;
and Saul would be refreshed and be well,
and the evil spirit would depart from him.
1 Samuel 16:23
- to his own burdened, weary heart
O my Strength, I will watch and give heed to You and sing praises;
for God is my Defense (my Protector and High Tower).
My God in His mercy and steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look [triumphantly] on my enemies.
Psalms 59:9-10
- in his encouragement of others
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
Psalms 100:1-2, 4
(Sometime, read through the book of 1st Chronicles, in particular chapters 13-15. This is the record of David leading the people to bring the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem and setting it in the Temple where it belonged. In preparation for that, King David organized and appointed singers (over 4,000 in that choir!), and musicians, and priests—all for the praise of the Lord through worship-filled music.)
And as such we, also, have been instructed to minister to one another through music, and encourage each other to worship and praise God.
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom
teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16
…But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
always giving thanks for all things
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Ephesians 5:18-20
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek the Lord and His strength;
seek His Presence continually!
Psalms 105:1-4
Oh, yes, Christian music can inspire us in any number of ways—it can revive us, it can bring joy, it can get us up on our feet to dance—but as I referred to at the beginning of this blogpost, it is this overwhelming peace that some songs bring to our hearts and minds…such as this beautiful song from Selah and Jill Phillips. This peace, which only comes through the Spirit, is precious and a thing to be desired!
And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
Here is the Amplified Bible version:
And God’s peace [shall be yours,
that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ,
and so fearing nothing from God and being content
with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace]
which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard
over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Without a doubt, the peace of God surely does guard our hearts and minds! Isn’t that an awesome picture painted for us…God’s peace mounting guard and being the garrison around our hearts…our minds!
I pray for each of you that having the comfort of this transcending peace is of such importance to you. There is no peacefulness that the world talks about, or calm centered feeling that anything else purports to bring that can take the place of God’s peace in Christ Jesus. It is already given to us…simply receive it.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in one body;
and be thankful.
Colossians 3:15* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *
