Hope for the Soul in Uncertainty (Playlist Included)
As my brain filled with anxious thoughts, I caught myself turning up the volume on the radio and getting lost in the moment. Words of worship replaced the worry and fear consuming my thoughts.
We are living in highly unusual and unprecedented times.
What will happen today?
What does all this mean for the future?
We are all processing these days the best we know how—often one day at a time, and frequently, one decision at a time.
You, like me, are likely feeling every emotion under the sun related to our rapidly shifting reality. We are all in the same boat and we are all trying to do the best we can.
No one knows how best to get through this. No one knows what’s next. We are all living an uncharted reality.
The circumstances we are living through are unique…but maybe the feeling of uncertainty feels a little bit familiar. It does for me.
The questions I find myself asking these days are being pulled from the archives and dusted off. When I lost my mobility due to a rapidly growing tumor—and there were no concrete answers to be had—uncertainty rang loud.
While the circumstances were very different, the confusion, frustration, fear, and anxiety experienced then also rings true now.
Uncertainty is something we’ve all experienced in life in some way, shape, or form. We’ve all been in that dazed and confused state.
What did you do in those circumstances? What helped you pull through the chaos and confusion then? What can you use from that experience to help you amid these unusual times?
Those are the questions I’ve begun to ask myself.
We all process differently and must find what works for us each individually as we move forward into the unknown. What worked once before may not work now, but in the same vein, something that didn’t work before might just work now.
Lately, I’ve been surprised by the transformative power of music to stop my thoughts from spiraling.
I am a truly awful singer, but I love blasting music and singing at the top of my lungs. These days, music has been a balm to my weary soul. In a time that the world feels heavy, it’s been a refuge when my mind won’t quit—a way to replace worry with worship.
Instead of keeping it to myself, I thought I’d share my “Hope for the Soul” playlist in hopes that it does the same for you.
These words, in particular, have provided some much-needed hope for my soul:
What if I believed that God would meet me in my trouble and my pain
And all the truth that’s in my head would move down to my heart and then
I shall not want for anything and finally be at peace again
What if the world doesn’t end when the fears come true?What if we have what we need to make it through?
JJ Heller, God is Still Here
There is manna from heaven and mercies new
What if God is still here in this desert too?
Share with me the things that are unexpectedly bringing you relief as you make your way through these unusual times.
May we take this one day at a time, one decision at a time with God as our guide.
