Do you anticipate hearing from God this Lent?
My family is observing Lent—a time of revival, personal renewal, and a deep spiritual experience —by listening to a Lent playlist. We contribute songs to the playlist with lyrical imagery meant to guide us to Easter, the crux of Christ’s story and our Christian faith. We enjoy listening together but also take time alone to listen and meditate. Each day we intentionally come together to share an aspect of Jesus’ character that the song revealed in our hearts.
A community playlist is a simple way to participate as a family, a small group, or with friends. Whether you share daily or weekly, intentionality is key. Encourage one another to make the essential disciplines of Jesus’ disciples—Bible study, prayer, and fasting—part of your daily routine. As we focus on the disciplines of corporate and personal worship during the season of Lent we desire to walk with Christ on His journey to the cross.
I find it helpful to listen to a song on repeat until the words and notes have saturated my mind and spirit. The mystery of lyric and melody connecting our mind and spirit remains a beautiful one. Reflect on this thought from C.S. Lewis’ The Weight of Glory:
The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.
What important counsel Lewis shares as we lean into this exercise of hearing from God through songs. Our goal this Lent is moving beyond the music and the longing they create – to actually knowing the One who inspires them.
If we truly believe in all Jesus Christ has done for us, setting us free, we ought to live our new lives in him as Paul shared in Galatians 2:19-20 (NIV), “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
This Lent my family hopes to examine the season as a time to fully hold the implication of Jesus’ crucifixion, the stunning power of his resurrection, and his design to make us new. Do you anticipate hearing from God this Lent?
Here are some Lent playlist suggestions from our family to you:
- Lent Playlist (curated by Kory & Kristen Pence)
- Lent to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to Easter (Page CXVI)
- Celebrate Easter (various artists)
Image attribution: arinahabich / Thinkstock