Psalms and Songs

I don’t know about you, but sometimes my Spotify playlist of “liked songs” gets boring and repetitive because I haven’t added any new music to it in a while. This summer, one of my goals was to enjoy new genres, artists, and songs that I found encouraging. Samantha Ebert was one of the artists that I actually heard about in a car ride with Rebecca back in the spring. I immediately thought, “Wow! Beautiful voice, good message, and great songs.” The particular song that I am writing about today is called Flowers. This song is a lovely piano ballad about God growing good things from bad. Samantha was actually diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2023 and was so sick she was bedridden for months. This chronic illness is still ongoing for her, so to hear the raw gratitude and deep thoughts in her lyrics is so humbling. The song Flowers, came about because she got some “get well flowers” from a friend when she was feeling the aches of the disease. In an interview with K-Love, Samantha says, “God reminded me that beautiful things grow in the darkest of places. Flowers don’t grow on the mountaintops, and we don’t grow and depend on Him as much when life is easy.” Music is such a wonderful way to express and share a message, and I think Flowers is a prayer of both pain and trust. No matter if you are in a valley or on a mountaintop this week, each section of the lyrics can be part of that prayer. I added Bible verses after each section that I thought fit well with the topic/ theme. You’ll notice that all of the Bible verses are from the book of Psalm. David, the author of the book, was a brave shepherd, warrior, and then second king of Israel. David wrote several songs and poems about depending on God through times of struggle. He often writes about the personal experiences he had through his life. The connection between David’s writings and Samantha’s was the main reason why I chose verses from Psalm. 

“Well, blue skies and hillsides feel so far away

And I wrote in my notebook that I've seen better days

Than the ones as of late

I can't bear the weight”

Psalm 143:1-3  - Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead.

“The rain won't stop pouring out my windowpane

And I haven't left my bedroom in 76 days

I wish something would change

'Cause I'm losing faith”

Psalm 13: 1-2  - How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts? And day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

“So I brought it up in a desperate prayer

Lord, why are you keeping me here?

Then He said to me, "Child, I'm planting seeds

I'm a good God and I have a good plan

So trust that I'm holding a watering can

And someday you'll see that flowers grow in the valley"

Psalm 94:19  - When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

“So whatever the reason, I'm barely getting by

I'll trust it's a season knowing that you're by my side

Every step of the way

And I'll be okay”

Psalm 46: 1-3 -  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and mountains quake with their surging. 

“ 'Cause I brought it up in a desperate prayer

Lord, why are you keeping me here?

Then He said to me, "Child, I'm planting seeds

I'm a good God and I have a good plan"

So trust that I'm holding a watering can

And someday you'll see that flowers grow in the valley”

Psalm 147: 7-8 - Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. 

“When I'm on the mountain and looking down below

I'll see a valley of flowers that needed time to grow

And I'll thank you for the rain

The hurt and days of pain”

Psalm 65: 12-13 - The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.

“And I'll bring it up in a grateful prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for keeping me there

You know just what I need, and you've planted seeds

'Cause you're a good God with a real good plan

And you hold my world in a watering can

So I can have peace 'cause flowers grow in the valley”

Psalm 24: 1-2 - The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. 

Scripture is so old, and yet it was written with the same aches, faith, and joy that we feel today. I love that God is continuing to use music as a way to speak to hundreds of thousands of people going through similar things. I believe that memorizing scripture and applying it is a form of worship in itself. Adding music, harmonies, and instruments are another way to amplify those expressions, emotions, and prayers that we cry out with. What song or Psalm has been stuck in your head lately? Maybe it is there for a reason.