Matching and morphing my emotions: God’s healing with music

My nerve pain from the recent medical procedure had brought piercing electric shocks once again. I couldn’t hold back my tears or cries of anguish. My neurologist was so compassionate, but it had to happen. Yes, I’m awake for these treatments that are helpful, occurring every three months. 

This time, my body responded for several days with a suddenly numb, overwhelmed jumble of emotions. I could barely think, read, or focus from brain fog and exhaustion. Psychologists call this a trauma response of our brains and, indeed, I knew I needed our Lord’s healing work.

I knew I not only needed God’s healing gift of musical lament, but I also needed Biblical lament’s turnaround of a praise interruption. I knew I needed Scriptural lament’s emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and physical turnaround of praising God in song, so I could heal in every way. As a retired music therapist and forever church musician, I knew this is His way for us as we suffer. It’s all in God’s Word.

I knew I needed to first match my various emotions and thoughts. “When shall all my sorrows end?” My stinging tears could only express the same agony as this week’s hymn…I have endured so many needles, nerve pain, and shocks over the last 35 years…and I was so tired of needing these treatments. I was grieving the losses and aches from the effects of this fallen world of sin and the way our bodies decay as a result.

Praise to our Healer! It took a few days while using my subscribers’ weekly playlist gifts and music therapy-inspired podcasts, lying down without distraction, but He brought healing peace once again to body, mind, and soul, through matching and morphing my emotions.

So, this week, I’m sharing a bit of teaching about this, using a lament Psalm and a newer song, because everyone’s emotions are all over the place as we suffer. And that just makes physical pain worse!

Matching my emotions in songs of lament

What tempo, dynamics, rhythms, harmonies, or melodies do you think might work with these lyrics?

When shall all my sorrows end? 

When my days of mourning cease? 

When shall I to Christ ascend? 

Only place of happiness? 

(“When Shall All My Sorrows End?”, Langley, J. H., p. d.)

Thirsting, panting after home, 

Longing for that happy day, 

Still I cry, “My Saviour, come! 

Come, Lord Jesus, come away.” 

Restore brightness to my eyes;
otherwise, I will sleep in death (Ps. 13:3 CSB).

See what tribulations rise.

Earth and sin beset me round; 

Sorrows, trickling from my eyes, 

Moisten all the weary ground. 

Lord, thy pardoning love reveal;
Let my cry ascend thy ears.
Sin, alas! I deeply feel;
Sin, but ah! thy blood appears!

Consider me and answer, LORD my God (Ps. 13:3 CSB).

Morphing my emotions with music’s healing rhythm!

Researchers have discovered that our body’s autonomic nervous system primarily synchronizes with music through rhythm, even though we holistically process and experience music in its simultaneously multidimensional beauty. The “almost irresistible power of rhythm…serves both to entrain and coordinate movement.”^[1] God designed us to automatically entrain or sync up^[2] to rhythm, tapping beats, feeling the pulse, unconsciously breathing in time to what we hear. Our heart rates respond, and the resulting cascades of neurochemical reactions fill our whole being. 

As we think about God’s healing power through worship music when we’re suffering, it then makes sense for us to primarily focus first on dimensions of rhythm….tempo, beat, long and short sounds, syncopated, or steady and simple. 

As Langley turns around to praising God for gospel truth, as part of his lament, what would you change about the rhythms?

Blood, that answers every claim,
Tells me, Jesus died for me.
Then, in his delightful name,
Sin’s subdued, and I am free. 

Gradual healing, by God’s design of musical lament and its matching and morphing effects on our brains and bodies

Sister in Christ, if you also suffer from chronic suffering, you are quite familiar with these emotions. Did you know about the matching and morphing principle of music therapy? It mirrors the structure of the lament Psalms, when our emotions are all over the place and require some morphing! And what do the lyrics of Scriptural worship songs do for us?

It’s beautifully amazing to me that our Lord created music in such a way to impact the emotional part of our brains, bringing gradual healing to our bodies, even bringing moments of calming, physical relief in the process.

This week’s playlist gift, matching and morphing our emotions: God’s healing with music

I have much more to share, but for now, may this week’s worship music playlist gift be our Lord’s “matching and morphing,” gradually healing gift of love for your hurting emotions, mind, body, and soul. It will take both of us from authentic and appropriate lament (and perhaps, anxiety or depression) into praising Him for “whatever is true.” What a precious gift He gives us as we sing to Him in order to “dwell on these things.”

If this would be His helpful music therapy-inspired resource for you as you suffer, sign up here, and the healing playlist will arrive in your email with my love and prayers. 

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If you would be interested in a free workshop on this topic, specifically for Christian women, click here to see our ministry’s offerings!

To read more of Lauri’s writing, you can use her devotional Bible study lament prayer journals: Praying God’s Blessings in Christ as We Suffer: Scripture Prayers for the Hardest Days, Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering, Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character as We Suffer, or Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering. In the Valleys of God’s Love is written for children aged 3-8, a perfect read for grandparents, parents, and children to share together, preparing them for suffering to come.

^[1] Sacks, O. (2007). Musicophilia: Tales of music and the brain. Vintage, pp. 267-268.

^[2] Norton, K. (2016). Singing and wellbeing: Ancient wisdom, modern proof. Routledge.