Calm in the Storm

Few of us alive today have witnessed such a confluence of “storms.” The major front we’re all dealing with, of course, is the “virus crisis” and everything related to it. Few of us appreciate having our freedoms curtailed, being told to stay home as much as possible. Health care workers and more face shortages of critical equipment. For example, my older brother is a medical courier, driving lab specimens from one place to another in the Chicago area, but he’s doing so without a protective mask—there aren’t any. So many Americans are wondering how long their money will hold out…if they’ll still have a job when all this dies down…if their employer will even be in business!

And we’ve been being slammed on the political front for the past few months. The two major parties have been at each other’s throats, vying for power. In the meantime, important national concerns—and people—pay for it, in more ways than one.

Then there’s the ongoing threat of terrorist activity. We never know where the next assault will come from; there’s just a sense it’s coming. A global pandemic hasn’t stopped the saber-rattling, either. Every once in awhile the clanging rises above the deafening noise of the pandemic news.

Most of us are living in a perpetual state of unease.

So what to do to find some calm in the storm?

The Calming Word

Without a doubt, the best starting place centers on meditation. I’m not referring to the eastern-mysticism type that involves emptying the mind or repeating a mantra. I’m intending the biblical type encouraged by Paul the Apostle. When he himself was “quarantined” under house arrest in Rome, Paul encouraged the Christians at Philippi to discipline their minds:

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8

I suggest we start by focusing our minds on what is true about God – His character, the nature of His works, His promises, and so on. From there, weeding out the overwhelming volume of negative information, caustic rhetoric, unproven “data,” and ugly speaking will calm the mind.

Calming Music

In addition to that, use music. Skillfully played, soothing music calms the storm-tossed soul!

Certainly, rich Christian music with truth-packed lyrics helps center the mind where it belongs. Personally, though, I can’t listen much to songs playing in the background. When I need to focus on something, the lyrics compete for my attention, and I’m too easily distracted. Honestly, I can’t even have instrumental music of songs I know playing in the background—the unsung lyrics charge to the forefront of my brain!

I’m not the only one with this problem. Many years ago, while serving as an assistant pastor, the senior pastor asked me if I had any records (yes, vinyl LPs) of instrumental music that he wouldn’t know (we just had an office-wide sound system installed that piped music into our offices). I looked at him a little puzzled—the music director provided several cassette tapes (!) of instrumental Christian music, so I thought the request odd. The pastor put into words what I had already noticed myself. “I know all those songs,” he explained, “so even when the instrumental version comes on, my mind wants to stop what it’s working on and sing along.” I understood exactly what he meant.

So to mitigate that potential mental conflict, I’ve found it helpful to use instrumental background music that has no written lyrics—at least that I know of.

A few years ago, I discovered a website and app, CalmRadio, that works very well. With scores of channels to choose from, almost anyone could find something they like. But for my purposes—and to help bring calm to a stormy day—I almost always use the Solo Piano and Guitar channel. Incidentally, I’ve found the app helpful when staying in a hotel. One of the channels, “White Noise,” has the sound of an air conditioner running—actually helps me sleep.

One of my favorite artists in this genre is a pianist I referred to a few months ago, Robin Spielberg. My first exposure to her music came twenty-five years ago while we were living in Vermont. Our daughter gave my wife and me tickets to one of her first concerts. It was most memorable, held in a venue in downtown Burlington, not far from the lakefront. The mild weather outside complemented perfectly the warm, soothing music from Robin’s piano.

After the concert, I purchased a CD for us and a book of arrangements for our piano-playing daughter. We’ve since purchased almost all her recordings and find most to be calming, well-suited for times like these. “Montclair,” from her first album and performed live in that concert, remains a favorite.

A few years after seeing Robin in concert, we learned she and her husband were expecting twins. We grieved to hear that one of the babies died in premature childbirth; the other clung desperately to life, spending weeks in neo-natal ICU. Thankfully, she survived. Quite some time later, Robin shared a TED talk, explaining the powerful role of music in Valerie’s healing.

I don’t know if Robin knows the story, but there’s a biblical account that substantiates the calming effect of music on the human heart. Remember the storming rage that frequently controlled Israel’s King Saul? You can find the whole story in 1 Samuel 16:14-23. In short, Saul’s advisors understood that music—the right kind, played skillfully, soothingly—could calm the troubled, turbulent soul. So, they sought a musician and found just the person, a lyre-artist named David. The effect of his playing was powerful!

Whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

How are you holding up in the storm? Keep your mind focused on the truth, and may your soul be soothed with the calming, healing gift of music.