As a songwriter and singer, I’ve long leaned into music in the darkest of times and in times of celebration too. Famed songwriter, shepherd king of Israel, David sang in Psalm 30, “You have turned my mourning into dancing…” All throughout the Psalms, David moves from sorrow to joy, joy to sorrow, and I can relate. For me, writing a song is the most direct way to work through whatever swirl of emotions I might be experiencing, to find a calm in the midst of the storm, and to survive the storm altogether.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”
Psalm 28:7
Songwriters and musicians are the great storytellers of our time. Their voices wind their way through radio waves and wifi, reaching out to us at every turn, on our favorite TV show, video game, TikTok, and Reel — even that silly commercial we can’t get out of our head. Music is the universal language, after all. And in the Bible, music is a means of expressing gratitude and joy, and working through sorrow and fear. Music sounds a lot like prayer. And since we were talking about gratitude as prayer last week, it seems fitting to explore the sound of gratitude, the song of hope.
It just so happens the timing couldn’t be better, as we’ve just released the first episode of Our Story Our Song, a live music series tracing the roots of our stories through the beauty of our country to the places where we connect, the places we call home. The first episode features Erskin, a Texas-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter, diversity spokesman, and advocate for orphaned and abandoned children. He lives out his mission to strengthen ministries, engage culture, and create impactful art by partnering with Holt International, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Life Action, and Project Connect Nashville.
Catch Erskin on Instagram Live at 3pm EST for our weekly conversation on Reasons to Hope.
Writing the Book of Hope: Week 5
This week’s question — If your life were a movie, what would the soundtrack be? Is there a song of hope, a song of gratitude that would be your very own theme song?
Leave your comments on Instagram or Facebook. We’re writing the Book of Hope together and… now we’re creating a Reasons to Hope playlist on Spotify, so send us your best!
May the music lift your spirits and give you reason to hope.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12