I can’t count the number of times I’ve prayed or even thought about something and God just plops his words right into a song. It doesn’t matter the style or where the music is coming from — concert, radio, or Mass — he has a way of speaking all the languages and in any style.
Here I Am, Lord
When I was a child going through CCD, my favorite Mass song was Here I Am, Lord. Even at a young age, I remember feeling like God was speaking to me through this song. When I sang the reply, I meant it with my whole heart. Even now, the song gives me goose bumps and sometimes even brings me to tears when I think of our conversation.
Eye in the Sky
I was at my first Christian festival, Soulfest, and I had just met the guy I would marry. I was working on stage crew and Tobymac just started his first solo performance of the night. (It was the year DC Talk split and the artists went solo.) While I worked in front of the stage, Toby was doing a mix cover and I heard, “I always feel like somebody is watching me!” I looked up at Front-of-House to see him on spotlight and a rainbow in the sky. It made me smile.
I have more rainbow God moments but that’s for another time. There were several moments that week the Holy Spirit shined a light on us. The full story is longer, but suffice to say we’re now married with three children. Also, I’m still a huge Toby fan.
Kick of Love
One of my favorite artists is Peter Furler. Countless times the Holy Spirit throws these lyrics my way which kicks me into gear. It’s All in Your Head is my stop-thinking-too-much-and-do-the-thing! song. God sets something up for me to do, work, chores, a phone call, exercise, and I mull and think and strategize and procrastinate… If there’s anything I can kill, it’s time!
Ready with a push
With a shove, with a kick of love
Get up, get off your seat
Move your feet, just do what He said
It’s all in your head, it’s all in your head
I need a kick of love quite a bit, but thank God for His patience with me! This song tells me to stop worrying and Just. Do. The. Thing! I know, Lord, I know. Forgive me… again. And thank You.
Next Generation
My teen loves music and I’m so glad I listened to Christian music with them from the start. She listens to a variety but her favorite band is Skillet. They have a hard sound and, while it’s nothing you’d expect for a Catholic to listen to, they speak a hard truth. The lead singer wrote a song about the time he and his girlfriend had an abortion and needed healing. They’re now fully Prolife. At the last concert, he started talking about Jesus. I expected to hear the typical Protestant Jesus-loves-you-no-matter-what speech, but he took a turn.
Instead, it was along the lines of, “Jesus loves you unconditionally, so much that he wants to change you. He doesn’t just love you and leave you; He loves you and wants to change you for the better, to make you stop sinning and change your lifestyle to be more holy. That’s how much He loves you.”
Clearly the Holy Spirit is working in all ways. I pray He continues His work in Skillet.
Always Listening for the Lord
He speaks His Word through the Bible and at Mass, but let’s not forget He speaks to us daily! We need the Mass and all the Sacraments, but we also need to remain Catholic in our daily lives. God wants a constant relationship with us. Let’s always be listening for him! He isn’t confined to a box. The Lord is ubiquitous.
He’s told me to wait, to go, to breathe. He’s told me He’s there, He’s working on things. I feel him point me in directions. Sometimes it’s a gospel or a sermon, but for me it’s often a song. Perhaps this is because I’m not great at quieting down. I’m no Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13). I need pokes and audible words sometimes.
I am always listening for him in my day (or trying to.) St. Paul said pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17), and so we must be with the Lord, with him on our minds, always. He tugs at my heart when He speaks to me. It could be gentle, maybe a nudge, or a deeper parental feeling, or sometimes a kick of love.
If we can realize on a daily basis that this world is temporary and these trials and struggles are fleeting, that the battle is over souls and not of the flesh (Ephesians 6:12). Perhaps we can more easily be in Communion with him who made us and will one day call us home. Perhaps also, we can realize that He’s always looking to speak with us, if we will listen. How is the Holy Spirit speaking to you right now?
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