5 Songs to Listen to If You Just Need Some Encouragement

I paused just before going into the accountant’s office building and stuck my head out over the porch railing, listening. The faint music sounded familiar. In another moment, the bits and pieces of notes fit themselves together in my ear, and I smiled. I couldn’t tell what direction it was coming from, but someone was blasting this Lauren Daigle song in the middle of a neighborhood lined with off-campus housing.

Unbeknownst to the player of the music, that small moment brought a smile to my face. It encouraged my heart to hear someone enjoying worship music, loud and proud. It also inspired me to share a few of the songs that have stood out to me as being especially appropriate for the days in which we are living. Over the past year (not just 2020) I have come to notice and appreciate songs that acknowledge the challenge of living by faith while still declaring trust in God and acknowledging His goodness and faithfulness. They are songs that fully admit the brokenness and weariness and hurt of having to endure life on this earth but don’t use those things as an excuse to deny God’s truth and grace.

It is songs like these that remind us that worship is not always the outpouring of a heart full of warm fuzzy feelings; sometimes, worship is a battle cry. It is the desperate, clinging declaration of a war-weary heart that refuses to doubt or deny the goodness and faithfulness of a God whose ways are higher than ours – which is why we often don’t understand them. It is the resilient hope of those who stand on the promises of God even when all around them is sinking sand.

Is He Worthy
I saw the words to this song for the first time on Instagram. One of the accounts I follow is by a photographer whose husband went through cancer and had a bone marrow transplant last year. It was a harrowing time for their family, but their testimony was beautiful throughout. Kristen Morris is a gifted storyteller through both words and visuals and I recommend following her and checking our her new podcast as well (Note: I’ve only listened to a couple of the episodes so far but they were wonderful!).
Day by Day
(I couldn’t find a non-instrumental version of this on YouTube with lyrics that I loved, but this was the best I could find. This instrumental version is SO beautiful also!) This is a song that played in my head on repeat during the early days of the pandemic. It was a time period when I understood more than ever before why God wants us to practice living day by day – because if we can train ourselves to keep our vision mainly in this moment we are living and ahead to eternity, and not worry about the space in between, we can have so much more peace. It’s like hiking a mountain – you can only keep your goal in focus and control the step you are taking in this moment, and this one, and this one…everything else in between is not your concern. Wise planning is always important, yes, but beyond that consideration, God does not want us to be consumed with all the “what-ifs.” That only distracts us from our goal and hinders us from doing the best we can with the current moment we are living.
Trust in You
This was one of the first Lauren Daigle songs to catch my ear – love the message of the words and plus it’s just a fun song to turn up loud!
I Am Yours
Also by Lauren Daigle – if you sense a theme here, it’s because hearing that song inspired me to buy one of her albums. This is one of the new songs I have been enjoying on it – another of those “battle cry” songs.
Joy in the Journey
This list wouldn’t be complete without a song from my all-time favorite Christian artist, Michael Card. Our church is currently going through a sermon series on Philippians titled after this song – you can check it out on our YouTube channel here!
Bonus song: It’s Gonna Be Okay
Because it’s by the Piano Guys and it’s just plain fun and upbeat!