Music

There are a lot of things that have changed about me on the race so far. I’ve been able to let go of past sins, see myself as God sees me, know what it means to be loved, reconcile with people, and things like finding new interests and new things that I’ve become passionate about. 

One of these newfound passions is worship music. I love music. I love listening to it. But before the race I didn’t listen to a whole lot of worship or christian music in general. But now, it’s my favorite type of music. Some of my favorite moments on the race have been during worship sessions, like every Wednesday evening we have squad worship together and it’s an incredible time to just be with God. For me, it’s a great way to experience His presence, love, and sometimes hear His voice. Worship sessions have also been a great way for me to grow in freedom. I remember all the way back at bootcamp in June, the worship sessions we had, they were absolutely incredible. One thing I remember the most is the first few times I wasn’t really active, I kind of just stood there and listened. But as time moved on and I got more comfortable, I was able to move away from the fear of man and judgement and just do my own thing. And by the end of bootcamp, whenever we had worship sessions, I had my hands raised and was singing out loud. Fast forward to today and whenever we have worship time, I’m always full of the Holy Spirit, swaying back and forth, raising and spreading my hands as far as I can reach, and occasionally spinning and jumping around being overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit, and there’s nothing better than that. Even just listening to worship music by myself can sometimes be a Spirit filled experience.

Going back to the songs, there are a lot of songs that the first few times I’ve listened to them have felt like heavenly experiences; like they’re more than just normal songs. It’s the words; the lyrics. Some songs have lyrics that describe God’s love, grace, and beauty in such vivid ways that sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m listening to normal music, sometimes it sounds like something straight out of heaven, and it’s absolutely incredible. Some songs will have lyrics that represent something I’m going through or something I already have gone through, and it’s so awesome to find these kinds of songs that have such personal words that can sometimes have a huge impact on me. And the coolest thing is that I don’t personally know the people who made these songs, and they don’t know me either. But for some reason, they have such personal and impactful lyrics. This just shows how good God is at spreading His name, love, and beauty everywhere to have such an awesome impact on so many people like me.

I encourage everyone to seek out worship music. I believe it’s a great tool to connect with God and feel His presence around you. It’s had such an awesome impact on me and I think it could have the same impact on you to.

Here are some lines from some of my favorite worship songs:

“I’m done with compromise, I’m singing my goodbyes, I want what you design, there’s nothing like this life” Restoring Eden, MBL Worship.

“I can only imagine, what it will be like, when I walk, by your side” I Can Only Imagine, MercyMe.

“You called my name, and I ran out of that grave” Glorious Day, Passion.

“A million angel’s fall, face down on the floor, all the echo holy is the lord” Echo Holy, Red Rocks Worship.

“I don’t want anyone else, I don’t need anything else, you are my one thing, you are my one thing” Give Me Jesus, UPPERROOM.

“I will build my life, upon your love, it is a firm foundation. I will put my trust, in you alone, and I will not be shaken” Build My Life, Passion.

“Swing wide, all you heavens, let the praise go up as the walls come down. All creation, let everything with breath repeat the sound. All His children, clean hands, pure hearts, good grace, good God, His name is Jesus” Good Grace, Hillsong United.