What’s your favorite song? Do you have an all-time favorite, or are you like me, whose favorites shift as regularly as the seasons?
I’m going between a few right now. Sean Curran’s 1000 Names is currently tied with Katie Nicole’s In Jesus Name. You should seriously consider listening to them because they’re AMAZING.
They are my fear fighting songs right now, and I'm pretty sure I’d be a mess without them.
If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know that fear is something that I battle with daily. So many of us do. Mornings are usually the worst for me; it's not very fun to start your day off in a panic.
So I sing. Sometimes out loud, sometimes just in my head, if there are people around. I don’t know why, but this always seems to calm me. I do have a few theories behind this fear-fighting strategy, though:
1. From a purely physical/psychological standpoint, our brains produce the most
cortisol in the morning. This is the stress hormone, basically. I guess it's our brains’
way of revving us up for the day, but if you already have anxiety issues like me,
extra stress isn't necessary.
So why does singing help? Well I don’t think it’s the singing itself, but rather the
act of remembering the lyrics.
When my brain is going haywire and my thoughts are going a thousand and one
directions, it helps to narrow my focus to one thing; for me, that's whatever song
I’m recalling.
2. This theory is the one that I like more; let’s call this one the spiritual standpoint. Sure,
there is a psychological benefit to distracting yourself with song lyrics, but what
you are remembering is most important.
Think about it: repeating raunchy rap lyrics is quite different from the words of a
worship song. I’d go with worship songs if I were you. Or Scripture itself, of course.
Repeating Scripture doesn't work as well for me. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE
the Bible, but when I’m trying to dissuade my panic, repeating the same verse over
and over again kind of keeps me in an obsessive, repetitive mindset. Instead,
repeating whole songs, where the words are varied, is better at keeping my mind
occupied. I have to focus more on the lyrics, which drowns out the fear. And all of
these worship songs are rooted in Scripture, so that’s a bonus :)
Worship is powerful, friends, drawing us away from our own distress to focus our
attention to Someone greater than us.
That’s why I really love this spiritual fear fighting approach; gratitude is much more
potent than we give it credit for, and calling on the name of the Lord invites Him
into the battle with us.
Alright, so I gave you two theories as to why singing helps me battle the anxious lies of the Enemy.
Maybe you should give it a go, if you don’t already :)
Worship as warfare; quite a powerful weapon, isn’t it?
Sing of His goodness, friends. Sing breathlessly and timidly if you have to, through the fear, Sing with tears and snot streaming down your face. Just sing– and trust God to work.
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