Melodic Mondays
Those of you who know me know that I love music even though I am not musical myself. I listen to good music as often as I can. It is beneficial to the brain, valuable to the vocabulary, and strengthening to the soul. Isaiah 12:2-3 is a lovely passage that includes this soaring statement of surety: “The Lord JEHOVAH [YAHWEH] is my strength and my song.” This could be translated, “God is my mountaintop and my music.” Yes, He is! Each Monday, I want to study this subject and suggest a song to listen to. Anyone reading this devotional has easy access to any song. (I am an exception because I do not go on a computer or other information device.) If you do not like my suggestion (and we all have different tastes), you can think of or search for one that speaks to you. Then, it can become a source of encouragement throughout the week.
When I was young, my older cousins would play their albums, providing an opportunity for me to hear a wide variety of music. I noted how frequently even rock musicians referenced God and sometimes recorded Gospel songs. This spiritual longing is explained in part in Ecclesiastes 3:11b: “He hath set the world in their heart.” This sentence means that God has placed an eternal perspective in the hearts of people; we know intuitively that there is much more to life than what we merely observe. The traditional song “Good Shepherd” by the Jefferson Airplane falls into the category of unexpected recordings. We know that “the LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1a) and that Jesus, God the Son, is “the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14).