Thought for Today
Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
Ephesians 5:18 . . . be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,
James 5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
“So let your story sing. Your voice might be the grace someone else needs to keep going.” (These Days, January 14, 2026)
It comes as no surprise to most who know me for me to acknowledge that I am not musical. I love music; I love to sing; I have no musical talent. That being said, I believe that it is almost impossible to separate worship from music. Music is an integral part of our worship of our Creator God. Equally, music is an integral part of a mentally, physically and spiritually healthy life.
We do argue about what constitutes music. Many of us as teenagers heard some version of “That music you listen to is just noise. You can’t understand the words; and, if you could, they don’t make any sense.” Some of us as parents, have found ourselves saying some version of those words to our own children. I sometimes wonder whether Joseph ever said some version of that to Jesus.
You have probably heard some version of “music soothes the soul of the savage beast.” That is thought to have derived from “music hath charms to soothe a savage breast,” from the play The Mourning Bride, 1697, by William Congreve. We all know that music can inspire, music can calm, music can enrage. Music can be sad, happy, depressing and uplifting.
Over the ages, people have found all sorts of ways to create music; instruments, devices and implements with which to ‘make music.’ I have seen and heard people play saws, washboards, spoons and other diverse, everyday items. Our children were both in high school bands employing trumpets, trombones, drums and all sorts of musical devices. I personally am a great fan of bagpipes, although I only listen to them when I am alone.
But, how are we to make our story sing? No one wants to listen to my voice sing my story. Despite my parents spending a lot of money on music lessons, I cannot sing my story using any sort of instrument, even a kazoo. I have heard my voice described using many adjectives, but never have I heard my voice described as being the grace anyone needed to keep going.
I have witnessed many examples of Christian stories being ‘sung,’ however, without musical voice or instrumental accompaniment. I often reference hymns when I share these Thoughts. This morning, I am thinking of the hymn I Sing a Song of the Saints of God. That hymn references doctors, queens, shepherds, prophets, priests, martyrs, and ordinary “folk like you and like me.” How did they sing their songs? The hymn begins, “I sing a song of the saints of God . . . faithful their whole lives through, who bravely labored, lived and died for the God they loved and knew.”
We sing our stories by how we live our lives. Jesus told us, "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." A life lived in love is truly a love song. A life lived in love is also a form of worship.
God does not call us all to one specific or particular profession. Paul wrote, “1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
We sing our stories by how we use our God-given gifts in service to the God we love and in service to each other. Whether or not we are aware of it, our songs are the grace we and others need to keep going.
Stay safe, sing your life-song, trust God,
Pastor Ray