If you’ve worked in retail for any length of time, you’ve probably gotten sick of hearing the same music day after day. Or is that just me and my incredibly easily annoyed ears? Ha. Anyway, I’ve heard the same playlist of 70’s and 80’s hits every day since the day after Christmas. I didn’t know these songs before, so I end up hearing one random line of a song over and over in my head. Sometimes I wake up at night with a phrase repeating in my sleep. Sheesh.
I hate when this happens, so I decided to immediately start singing a different song as soon as I realize I’m meditating on the top hits from 1986. Right now my song of choice is, “Those who know Me know peace like a river, those who know Me know joy like a flood…” Not only does it get that annoying lyric out of my head (and if you like 80’s hits, more power to ya. It’s just not my thing), but it turns my thoughts to a different place. People who know the Lord have peace and joy. Amen. That’s so much better than “I sense the rains down in Africa” or whatever that person is trying to say.
Do you have an annoying lyric that plays in your head? I’m not talking about John Denver, I’m talking about thoughts of worry, fear, doubt, jealousy, or insecurity. Do those themes control your thoughts? Do you wake up at night worried or afraid?
You need to pick a different song.
He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. – Psalm 40:3
By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night His song is with me. -Psalm 42:8
Having a new song begins when you have a personal relationship with Jesus. That’s a one-time decision. From that point on, it’s up to us what we allow to fill our thoughts each day. Here are a few ways we can direct our thoughts back to that new song when the annoying music begins to play:
- Write Scripture verses on index cards and place them strategically in your home
- Fill your home with encouraging printables (here’s my Pinterest board with lots of good ones!)
- Play uplifting music in your car and at home
What will be on your playlist today?
Come Home For Comfort 
Great encouragement to keep our minds focused on God! I grew up on Patch the Pirate too. Sometimes I find myself singing those songs from childhood to my son. It is amazing how much a song can stick with you even if you haven’t heard it on years.
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It is amazing how long those songs stay with you!
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These are great ideas! Question. . .do you have a recommendation for a quick daily devotional read?
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Yes! I have the You Version Bible app on my phone – I like to listen to the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds to that day’s date while I’m getting ready in the morning. Hearing the Scripture out loud helps it to stick with me, and I find it also helps me commit to memory.
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GREAT post today, Whitney!
I even catch myself hearing a song just walking through a store or on the tv that I used to listen to years ago and it just plays on repeat in my mind. My current song to start singing when that happens is “and when the story ends we know Jesus wins, for His power cannot be stopped. Nothing ever can, nothing ever will, overcome The Lord our God.”
And I often say, there’s a patch the pirate for everything. We randomly quote lines of it or sing songs to fit the situation. It is what we listen to the most! 🙂
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Good song choice! 🙂 And yeah, there’s a PTP song for everything – even describing your love for broccoli. Haha! I grew up listening to the early PTP adventures and still find myself singing them. “Do right till the stars fall” has encouraged me in many work situations over the years!
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What an excellent, encouraging post this is! And Amos 4:13 that Arlene mentioned above — that is one of my very favorite verses. Filling our minds and hearts with truth about God is so important — when trouble comes, we can base our responses on what we know about Him. Thank you for sharing this post today!
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Thank you for sharing that! You’re right – when our responses come from a knowledge of God, everything goes better. Love that!
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In my case it is Patch the Pirate songs that my grands love…and while they are good and build character, sometimes it is hard to listen to them all day long.:) Right now I have Amos 4:13 on my nightstand. ( I won’t type it out because I know you will look it up!! I can never resist looking up Bible verses that people post on their blogs!)
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Haha! My parents can sympathize with you on that one – I was a big time Patch fan back in the day 🙂 Thanks for sharing that verse – the God who created the wind and who knows my thoughts can certainly handle my worries! Amen!
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