Day 2: Soundtracks

Theme: Embracing the Truth About You

Key Verse: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” - Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

Reflection:
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
— St. Augustine

In recent years, streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have become ubiquitous, and it’s not hard to see why. Music seems to take us to another world. Next time you’re out and about, check out all the rock star wannabes singing along with tunes in their car or bopping down the street with their earbuds in place. Mentally and emotionally, these music lovers have entered an ethereal realm that’s made them almost oblivious to this physical world they live in.

What music transports you? My music library holds a wide variety of tunes, with folders for rock & roll, ’80s, jazz, R&B, country, and Christian worship. But these remarkable little musical hard drives have nothing on the human memory. Have you ever played “name that tune” and guessed a favorite melody in just a few notes? It’s amazing how that works. Music is definitely a gift from God.

One friend of mine has a surround sound system in his home big enough to rival anything at Best Buy or Circuit City. You can sit in any room (even the bathroom) and hear music around you, which is pretty cool. The downside is that there is nowhere you can go to escape it.

Over the years, as I’ve worked with hundreds of people to help them become all God made them to be, I’ve found a lot of us have inner surround-sound systems playing continuously. There is nowhere we can go to escape, no such thing as peace and quiet. Only the sounds we hear are not musical. Rather, they are the negative statements we’ve heard all our lives from other people—often a mom or dad. The lasting imprints these sounds make are fear, low self-worth, and low self-esteem. The problem is, their messages are simply flat out LIES.

Lies in My Head

God made our minds incredibly powerful—we can use them to calculate, problem solve, plan, recall, and store a lot of information, in addition to favorite tunes. How are you at recall? Do you remember Life’s Two Greatest Goals? They’re the same ones Jesus once challenged a man to recall. The man rightly answered, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” And, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27 NLT).

Jesus wants us to use our minds to love God. Unfortunately, most of us can’t hear the truth over the noise of old tapes running through our brains—over and over and over.

I remember when my counselor said to me, “Erik, what do you listen to when the music is not playing?” He was referring to my self-talk. Here’s what I wrote on the whiteboard he had on his office wall:

• Erik, you will never be able to read, write, or do math.
• Erik, you will never be like your brother.
• Erik, you constantly disappoint me.
• Erik, you will never be good at sports.

Those were the verbal bombs my alcoholic father deposited into my mind. The most hurtful one—a lie that took years to erase—was, “Erik, you will never be anyone.” I didn’t just hear these statements once or twice. From the age of eight, when my parents got divorced, to the age of sixteen when I left home, they recycled weekly—sometimes daily.

The Bible says:
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
— Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Action Step:
Identify one lie you’ve believed about yourself. Replace it with a Bible verse that speaks God’s truth and reflect on it throughout the day.