3/15/13 by Whitney Lescher

What does the word focus means for me in this season of my life?  What can I possibly say to encourage someone else in this area?  My thoughts kept leading me back to music.  In different seasons of my life God has used different means to speak truth into my life.  Right now music is my stronghold and it renews my spirit, as well as teaches me, each day.  When I find myself distracted during prayer, or when worried or angry thoughts flood my mind, I have found that singing about God’s majesty helps me to focus.  Singing a meaningful worship song, and meditating on the words, allows me to focus on what (and who) is truly important.

As I’m learning how to use music as a way to find God, I have found myself seeking it in more and more places.  Sunday morning worship is a highlight of my week, I have the Christian music station (channel 826) turned on every chance I get, I have started listening to only Christian CDs in the car, and I even like to walk past the Student Center at PEAK to see what our youth might be singing.  As a result of all this wonderful music, I find myself singing throughout the day because the desire to worship is imprinted on my heart.

When I sing, my heart feels at home and seems to focus in a way that is difficult to describe.  I think that is because we were created to be creatures of worship and when I am living out my calling I am at peace.  My focus should be on glorifying Jesus, and on the work that he is doing in this world and in me, and music has helped me remember this.

When I listen to the lyrics of a song, and I can relate to the artist, it encourages me that I am not alone.  Sometimes a particular song sticks with me throughout the day and helps me with challenges that arise.  Other times an artist will sing about a struggle that her/she has gone through, or is currently going through, and I find my heart reaching out to him/her.  There are other songs that remind me of particular people in my life and it leads me to pray for that person.  Then there are songs that simply praise God for his majesty and make my heart rejoice.

Worship leads to prayer and prayer can lead us to worship, and at times they are hard to distinguish from one another.  The point is that Jesus is giving me opportunities to focus on what is truly important in this life.  He is using the musical talents of my brothers and sisters to bring about growth.  I am so thankful that he blesses them with creativity to write songs because they have become such a blessing to me and our entire Christian community.  My prayer today is that each of you would seek to find worship songs that give you hope, joy, peace, or encouragement and that music would help you to grow too.