When a Worship Song Becomes Your Battle Cry

Because sometimes the truth we sing is the truth that saves us.

Please tell me I’m not the only one…

I’m driving through town thinking about my to-do list when I hear the opening notes of Dancing Queen come on the radio. Before I know what’s happening, I’m singing like I’m the star of a one-woman ABBA revival tour. Can you relate?

Or maybe Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ gets you reaching for the high notes. Or what about the granddaddy of them all? Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline? I don’t care who you are, if you don’t “BAH-BAH-BAH” at the right moment, I’m not sure we can be friends.

There’s just something about those songs that gets us belting out the tunes, am I right?

But do we ever sing out our faith with that same sense of abandon and unselfconscious joy?

Singing truth

I grew up Presbyterian (jokingly referred to as God’s frozen chosen) and spent many years of my adult life in the Methodist church. In both faith traditions, the worship music tends to be quieter, more reverent. It’s all I ever knew, and it’s lovely. But I confess, most days I cruise around town listening to contemporary worship music, and there’s a certain song I can’t resist belting out when I hear it — CeCe Winans’ Goodness of God. Do you know it?

Every time that song comes on, I feel an electric current of joy and gratitude surge through my spirit. Before I know it, I’m singing like I’m auditioning to become a member of CeCe’s backup band. If you know quiet, reserved me, you get how weird that is!

But here’s the thing, it’s easy to sing about God’s goodness when life feels good, isn’t it?

But what about when life’s not so good?

That’s when my doubt starts creeping in. And it’s not the kind of doubt that questions whether God is good; it’s a quieter, more personal doubt. Will God be good to me? That’s the kind of doubt I wrestle with when I’m sad or disappointed or when I feel like my prayers are going unanswered. Do you know what I mean?

Do you think this type of doubt is a sin?

I don’t. In the Bible, we see people wrestle with their doubts all the time, so I don’t think doubt is the problem. I think the issue is what doubt can grow into if we let it take root in our heart.  

It can take our eyes off God and make us miss what He’s doing in our lives. It can make us bitter. It can make us fearful. It can make us jealous. All of this dims our witness, and people notice.

This is exactly where my protagonist, Carson McAllister, finds herself in my novel, Deadline to Justice.

She’s witnessed the murder of her fiancé. She’s shattered. She believes God is good… but she no longer believes He’s good toward her. Her grief becomes the perfect foothold for the enemy, because Satan rarely attacks God’s existence, he attacks God’s goodness.

And isn’t that true for us too? The enemy doesn’t have to convince us God isn’t real. He just has to convince us God won’t show up.

Confronting the lies

So how do we close our ears to Satan's voice? How do we hold on to what we know is true when everything in us feels so fragile?

We start by naming the lie, then we counter it with truth about God’s character, His faithfulness, and His nearness to the brokenhearted.

We remember the times God has carried us.

We stay connected to people who can speak truth when we can’t speak it to ourselves.

And sometimes… we sing.

Even when our voice shakes. Even when our heart isn’t sure. Even when the goodness of God feels like a distant memory.

Because singing truth is a way of speaking truth over our lives — and our heart listens.

Some days we belt it out like a car-karaoke champion.

Some days we whisper it through tears.

But every time we choose to sing of God’s goodness, especially when life feels anything but good, we silence the voice of the enemy and strengthen our faith.

So tell me, what’s the song that helps you remember God’s goodness when you need it most? Please share in the comments. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!