Ever felt like you were living on the edge of a cliff?
What do you do when you get a call from the doctor with the worst possible news? How do you respond when you get the proverbial pink slip? Where do you turn in the middle of long sleepless nights as you worry about the future and your place in it?
When my youngest daughter Lydia turned 5 we were vacationing in Colorado. We stopped at Cottonwood Pass to enjoy a snowball fight and take in the beautiful scenery.
When I asked my three children who wanted to accompany me to the top of the mountain, only Lydia wanted to go. We enjoyed a breathtaking walk to a vista some 500-1000 feet above the parking lot. After enjoying the views we began our descent to rejoin our group.
That’s the first time we realized just how steep the mountain was. My bare-treaded sneakers which felt useless on the slick terrain. Lydia started slipping constantly and needed me to carry her, trembling as she clung to my neck. We were legitimately afraid that we were going to tumble down this steep mountain.
What did we do?
We sang.
That morning I had started writing a song based on Psalm 5, so I sang out a line and asked Lydia to repeat it back to me. I kept making up lines and she repeated them back. It took her mind off how near to danger we really were and it allowed me to trust God to protect us while we sang out his praises.
Living on the Edge of a Cliff: How to Worship When Life Gets Hard
What do you do when you feel like you’re on the edge of a cliff?
I encourage you to sing in the face of life’s imminent threats. While a song won’t change the looming danger, it will change your perspective and it does it in a way that gets to your heart, not just your mind.
Let me explain.
When we are afraid our defenses are on high alert and our minds become fully focused on the problem at hand. Our hearts often become fixated on the dire consequences and either become numb or stressed. We need something to put us at peace. That’s where music comes in.
“Music is the backdoor to the heart,” says songwriter and theologian Michael Card. Music therapists make their livings assisting people in emotional turmoil reconnect to their hearts and resume a normal life. Music therapy has proven helpful in fighting cancer, emotional distress, alzheimers and more. Most of us don’t need professional music therapists, but we do need the healing therapy the Spirit of God can bring through song.
King David sang to Saul when his heart was troubled and it brought peace (1 Sam 16:23). Likewise, we can turn to songs in the midst of our darkness nights.
But What Should We Sing?
When a crisis hits you don’t have time to look for the perfect song. Instead, I would go to the psalms and just start singing. It might be smart to have a playlist of some favorite psalms or just open the psalms, read, and sing. You don’t have to be musical to do this, but you might want to get away from anyone listening 🙂 Allow your heart to guide you and express to God what you are feeling.
There are many great psalm resources available, but here are a few more recent projects based exclusively on the psalms:
The Psalms Project
Sons of Korah
Psalter Project
Prayer Book Project
Psalms of Ascent
In the Wakeful Hours
Ian White – he has written quite a few psalms settings.
While I’m advocating singing in this article as a remedy during life’s storms, I also commend Mark Futato’s book Joy Comes in the Morning. It’s an excellent resource on how God often turns sorrow into joy.
Is Singing Really Enough?
Singing is not likely to make your problems go away, but it can help put your mind at ease so that you can seek the help you need.
Help can come through prayer, friends, pastors or even seeking professional help. I encourage you to take advantage of all the resources available to you.
Words of Advice for Friends of Those on the Edge of a Cliff
If you have a friend going through a difficult time, the last thing they may want from you is a song suggestion or a playlist. It can come across like salt being added to a wound or like a loud cymbal played early in the morning. Be sensitive to your friend.
But many times a gently delivered gift of music can be the perfect solace.
During college, I spent half a year in Kenya and while I was there I became very lonely at time. Some good friends sent me an album by artist Billy Sprague. I had never heard of him, but that album became a trusted friend as some of the lyrics were the exact things I needed to hear.
Pray for your friend and ask God to show you what songs to share. Sometimes sharing scripture through a song will be much better received than just saying or reading these verses. Hearing scripture put to music gives us a chance to meditate on the words and allow them to seep into our hearts.
Song Story: In the Morning
Back to the Colorado story. After Lydia and I came down the mountain, I went to the piano as soon as I could to finish writing the song we composed that day. It is probably my favorite song as it combines the verses Lydia and I sang that day with a prayer I wrote while serving my first church. Here is a recording and the lyrics:
In the Morning
In the morning, I lift up my voice.
In the morning, I sing and rejoice.
In the morning, I call on Your name.
Hear my prayer, my King and my God.
In the morning, I lay down my cares.
In the morning, I pour out my prayers.
In the morning, I cry out for grace.
Hear my prayer, my King and my God.
Chorus
Open my mouth to sing forth your praise.
Open my ears to the melody of grace.
Open my eyes to the beauty of your face.
Open my heart to know You all my days.
In the morning, I come to Your throne.
In the morning, I worship You alone.
In the morning, I bow down my heart.
Hear my prayer, my King and my God.
In the morning, in the morning,
In the morning, I bring you my praise.
In the morning, in the morning,
In the morning, I thank you for Your grace.
In the morning.
Words & Music by Phil Mershon
© 2005 Philmonious Psongs
Prayers for Today:
Self: Father, teach me to sing of your love each and every day. As I face trials I pray you would fill my ears with the melodies of grace and the peace that comes from your Holy Spirit. As my friends face the fierce storms of life, show me how to love and encourage them.
Family: Lord, teach me to love my family well and lead them through the peaks and valleys of life. Whatever valley comes next, I pray you would fill my mind with words and songs that help me guide and shepherd even if my heart quakes.
Work: Master, as co-workers and colleagues face difficult times, teach me compassion and give me songs to comfort and encourage. As I face challenging news in my work, grant me courage and joy in whatever the future holds.
Church: May our church be a place where the downtrodden find hope. Grant our pastors insight into the heart struggles of our flock. Show our worship leaders songs that will give hope to those feeling despair. May the Gospel fuel our faith every day.
Community: Lord, use me to love my neighbors and open my ears to hear their needs. May our lives minister grace and hope to those feeling shaken and disturbed by life.
World: King Jesus, show compassion to families who have lost loved ones through natural disasters, accidents, and wars. May the nations hear your sweet song of salvation and find living hope in the Gospel.