Over the past couple of weeks, Clay has spoken on “listening,” and considering listening is what brought me to Christ, it caught my attention. So considering I know you all love music, I’m extending Clay’s lessons on listening further, but this time more focused on music, not only the music we listen to, but the music that we play for Him – I entitled it “The Song of Life”.

I was thinking of using Lifesong by Casting Crowns, but I feel like it gets overplayed and if you’ve ever listened to Spirit FM, you have heard it at least 10 times. So while I was writing this devotion, this song played, and I felt like it went along with what I’d be talking about just as well; it’s called “Shine On” and is by one of both Clay & I’s favorite artists – needtobreathe.

One of my favorite quotes comes from a movie about a boy who believes music helps him find his parents: “Music is all around us, all you have to do is listen.”

This quote almost describes our lives – which leads me to three big questions for today – God places within us and around us the music of life, but what is the “song” of our lives? Are we living a song that God would want to listen to on repeat for hours at a time like we do certain songs? Do our lives sing a song to Him and about Him or are our lives just lip-synching and we don’t know the words?

You may not know it, but the Bible itself is filled with songs; in fact, the book of Psalm is a whole book of songs. Today, we’re going to look at the life songs of three major characters in the Bible.

  • The first person we’ll look at is David who wrote the majority of the songs in the book of Psalm:

Although David wrote many praise songs to God, they weren’t always what you’d call happy songs.

Have you ever heard a sad praise song? I sure haven’t thus the genre name being “praise”, there isn’t one that exists.

Even through the dark times of David’s life, he chose to allow his life to sing a song of praise to God.

While running for his life from King Saul and hiding in a cave, David penned Psalm 57, and one verse that stands out is verse seven, where he declares this –

My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.

— Psalm 57:7

“Steadfast” means resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering; loyal; faithful; committed; devoted; dedicated.

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

— 2 Samuel 12:1-10

Psalm 51 was written by David after Nathan the Prophet had confronted him about his sin. In verse ten of this, David cries out for forgiveness –

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

— Psalm 51:10

David’s life was not free from challenge, there was the battle with Goliath; Saul hated him and tried to kill him; there were threats of still other enemies. His life was not free from tragedy – his and Bathsheba’s first son died as a baby; another son, Absalom, tried to overtake his kingdom of Israel; and his only daughter was raped by one of his other sons. His life was not free from sin – he committed adultery; he murdered; he neglected his family life. Yet in it all, David chose to let his life sing a song of praise to God.

  • Another was Moses, whom I have not nearly as much to say as I did about David, just a few verses. He was threatened to be killed as a baby, became an Egyptian prince, and was used by God to lead Israel out of slavery.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.

“The Lord is my strength and my defense, he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.

Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea.

The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.

The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.

“In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.

By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up.

The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.

I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them.

I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’

But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them.

They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Who among the gods is like you, Lord?

Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

“You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies.

In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.

In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; terror and dread will fall on them.

By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone— until your people pass by, Lord, until the people you bought pass by.

You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

“The Lord reigns for ever and ever.”

When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, theLord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

— Exodus 15:1-19

Moses sings a song to praise God and also causes the Israelites to remember God’s mighty deeds in leading them out of Egypt and slavery. He gives glory to God, and triumphs in him.

  • The last person is Mary, who when she was just a virgin teenager, gave birth to Jesus himself after an angel spoke to her.

Luke 1:46-55 records Mary’s song of hope.

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

There is no telling the ridicule and disgrace Mary had to go through as an unwed pregnant teenager; yet, Mary focused on the hope of God’s promised and chose for her life to sing a song of trust to Him.
Music has more effect on your mood and more importantly your attitude on life more than almost anything else. Yes, it is okay to listen to some of whatever you want to listen to, a lot of the Christian music is almost kind of cheesy and only a select few will actually impact you, but if what you listen to changes your song to God into something he doesn’t particularly want to listen to, cut whatever you’re listening to out of your life for a bit and turn on some of that sometimes “cheesy” music for 10 or 15 minutes and pray.