Ryanne Molinari

In the first post in this series, I challenged you to consider adding a new resolution to your list: sing more! In the second post, we considered human beings as singing creatures and Christianity as a singing faith. Consider giving those a skim if you haven’t already!

A Discipline and Delight

Now look, we are more than halfway through February and I will be the first to admit that my New Year’s resolutions usually falter by this point. Rather than burdening you with another resolution to manage (or feel guilty about letting go), I hope that this slightly-rambling post encourages you that singing is not just a discipline but a delight.

Singing as Fulfilling

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you’re aware of how obsessed I am with Ephesians 5:18-21.

“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:18b-21).

In a class last August, our professor (a Pauline scholar) remarked that these verses mean something along the lines of “be filled with the Spirit by singing.”

As Christians, we are already filled with the Holy Spirit. And yet, singing seems to be a way in which we are further filled and strengthened. The Spirit ministers to us as we sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with other believers.

Just sit with that for a moment. Have you ever thought about musical worship as an opportunity to let God do something in and for you? Yes, we must focus on glorifying God, yet in his generosity, he fills us with himself as we pour out our praise.

Singing is literally fulfilling.

Seriously, just sit with that for a moment. To borrow a line from Psalm 139, such things are too marvelous for me!

Singing vs. Self

I suspect that singing is a fulfilling activity because it is also an emptying one. (Please note that this is not in Scripture; this is simply my speculation based on experience. I do think it checks out, though.)

Think about it: What must one do in order to sing?

Exhale.

In some sense, we literally have to get outside of ourselves in order to sing, and this is a very, very good thing.

In some sense, we literally have to get outside of ourselves in order to sing, and this is a very, very good thing.

Tweet

Consider the rest of Ephesians 5:19-21. We are told to sing to each other and to the Lord. Our singing forces us to look beyond ourselves and our worries. It requires us to breathe out instead of bottling everything up and to verbally communicate rather than silently overthink.

If we continue with this respiratory imagery, singing is a self-emptying exhale that makes room for us to be filled with something far, far better than our own anxieties. It’s as if God gave us singing to get us out of our own way so he could refill us with himself. (Again, please bear in mind that this is only my personal reflection.)

Haven’t you felt this in your own life? The release and rejoicing that inevitably come with unabashed singing? If not, try to remember this post next time you find yourself trapped in your own head. Force yourself to sing for two minutes. Then, check in: do you still feel as bad as before? Probably not.

Exhale in praise.

Breathe in with gratitude.

Get beyond yourself.

Refocus on God and neighbor.

Sing!

Silly Songs

So, what about beyond Sunday services? Or, for that matter, what about beyond worship music? Is it worth singing secular songs? Or just silly songs?

Yes and yes.

Certainly, not all songs are worth singing (keep Philippians 4:8–9 in mind). And not all songs are worth singing in all situations. (Flashback to the youth group that tried to use the wholesome bop “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees as a worship song…) Additionally, Scripture specifies that spiritual filling comes by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual song with other believers.

However, there is still innate value in the mere act of singing, even beyond overtly sacred music or services.

Here’s a light-hearted example: In college, one of my friends and I found ourselves worn thin. To cope, we decided to stop speaking to each other. Instead, we sang.

While our peers found our antics bizarre and possibly annoying, we thought we were hilarious. Moreover, we discovered that forcing ourselves to sing brought renewed joy to our daily tasks. Silly as it sounds, singing rather than saying ordinary things like “I need to go practice!” or “Would you like to get lunch now?” made life more fun and school less daunting.

Now, my husband and I often serenade our cat with choruses of “Our Bean” sung to the tune of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Whenever one of us mentions Iowa, the other launches into a never-ending chorus of “Iowaaaaaa! I-o-wanna-go!” We have a song and dance routine that inevitably crops up whenever we eat ice cream. Many of our inside jokes are also inside songs.

And you want to know something? I don’t think we have ever come close to arguing or complaining when we’ve been singing—even if it’s just a silly song about our cat!

Singing really can strengthen our relationships, reinforce our joy, and enliven our daily tasks if we let it.

I don’t have to tell you the other plentiful benefits of singing. A simple Google search can do that, revealing innumerable relational, physical, intellectual, and emotional benefits. Recall that we are singing creatures. We are made to sing, and singing makes us better.

We are made to sing, and singing makes us better.

Tweet

Unlimited Filling

One of my self-assigned duties as a pastor’s wife is to greet people as they depart after service. People often say things like, “I really needed that after a draining week” or “That service really filled my tank!”

But this filling is not limited to Sundays! We can be refreshed via singing all throughout the week. We would never accept that sermons are the only time to be in the Word, nor would we ever agree that we can only pray or gather on Sundays. So why do we often relegate singing to Sundays?

Why do we limit such a fulfilling activity?

If we prioritized singing more throughout the week, perhaps on Sundays we would not merely seek to be filled but to pour forth praise from rich storehouses of joy.

So let’s sing more. Let’s make up wholesome little tunes for our pets. Let’s hum merrily as we do our work. Let’s belt out a chorus on the freeway. Most importantly, let’s seek more opportunities to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with other believers.

Let’s seek to be filled with song and the Spirit everyday—not just Sundays.

Stay Tuned…

Martin Luther described singing as a way to “shake all cares from [our] souls.” So, especially you’re feeling down about not following through on your resolutions, you’re feeling trapped in your own mind, or you are simply enduring the winter blues, I hope this post has inspired you to get singing!

I recognize that this series has not quite gone according to schedule, but I’ve had a few exciting projects in the works that have needed to be my first priority. However, I do hope you’ll stay tuned. In the next article in this series, we will consider a few tips for those who don’t consider themselves singers. (Hint: That used to be me!)