Do you ever go through those tough seasons when you just feel so discouraged?
Yeah, me too. I’ve walked through many a wilderness season in my life and they’re never fun.
If we’re getting real, I’m kind of walking through a wilderness season right now. Not fun at all.
Over the years, as I’ve found myself in these seasons that I very much did not want to be in, music has probably been the most helpful thing for me. Other things have helped: reading my Bible, reading other books, having conversations with God, having conversations with others…but I think listening to songs with uplifting messages has helped the most.
Maybe it’s because I’m a word girl and the lyrics resonate so deeply with me. Maybe it’s the music itself or the beats that get me energized when I feel down. Maybe it’s because the positive messages are easier to put to memory when they’re in song form. I’m not really sure what it is, but I know that when I listen to uplifting songs, I feel better than when I don’t. I’ve written before about the difference Christian music has made in my life, and I mean it.
These songs aren’t all Christian ones (although most are, because that’s where I find the most hope – in Jesus!), and they don’t all sound exactly the same. Some are more melancholy; some are upbeat. Some are older; a few are pretty new. But each of them has given me hope at some point in my life, and I have them all on a playlist that I can throw on shuffle whenever I’m in need of some encouragement.
I hope these songs encourage you, too, and I pray you’ll know that whatever you may be going through, there is hope. God is with you, he has even your biggest problems handled, and the best is yet to come! 🙏🏼 🙌🏼
P.S. If you have a hope-giving song to add to this playlist, drop your suggestion in the comments below!
P.P.S. If you can name the movie that the song “Always Tomorrow” was in, you get extra credit! Pretty sure I was 13 when that one came out and I had the soundtrack on repeat for at least two years straight. 😊
I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
Jeremiah 29:11 MSG