Recently, I heard a very sad story of love and courage. A father and daughter were surrounded by enemy insurgents and explosions from the battle rang out all around them. The father, seeing fear on his young daughter's face, begins to sing songs to her and uses the explosion of the bombs, as if the crashing of symbols, creating a symphony for his daughter's ears.
Courage is when you hear the explosions around you and you choose to sing.
I don't know what happened to this father and daughter, but I know the Bible has many examples where his people have sung praise and he rescues them from harm. Song has always been a tool for worship, and when we are feeling down and discouraged, song can lift our spirit. The Bible also speaks that where two or more are gathered, God is in our presence. God is with us always, but I think when we gather as a family, a community, and a church he listens intentionally. He wants to give to those who seek him and like the father in this story he will comfort us in times of trouble (Isaiah 32:2). We may go through the difficulty, but he is always with us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Even if you are not a faith follower, you know that there is nothing like being surrounded by a crowd of strangers at a concert of our favorite band, and everyone is singing the lyrics to our favorite song. We all know a song on the radio that will bring back a fond or sad memory. We can recall jingles from commercials long after the products are no longer available. I've also heard that when you sing someone's name you're more likely to remember it .There's just something about music that touches our heart and fills us with love. When the song is praise and worship to God, he hears our love symphony.
You are my strength, I singpraise to you; you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely.
Psalm 59:17