Here are eight songs for a lonely heart.
The song, “You Carried Me” by Building 429 reminds me of the “Footprints in the Sand” poem where it seems that God has disappeared in our life but when we look behind us, we see only one set of footprints and it was where the Lord carried us through a difficult time. They sing, “You carried me through it all. And I believe, yes, I believe. You'll carry me all the way home. 'Cause mercy covers all, mercy covers all” and so they can say, “I stand only because you've given me faith to walk” showing their faith in God and utter dependence upon Him during the times of difficulties in our life.
What a great song “Desert Song” is as Hillsong sings for all those who have been left high and dry by someone they loved and now find themselves is a desert place. They sing, “This is my prayer in the desert. When all that's within me feels dry. This is my prayer in my hunger and need. My God is the God who provides,” so “this is my prayer in the fire. In the weakness of trial or pain” as “there is a faith proved. Of more worth than God,” so they sing (or pray), “refine me Lord through the flames.” Hillsong’s “Desert Song” may be a perfect listen for the lonely hearted Christian.
I love just about anything from Matt Maher, especially “Come to the Water,” which focus on the weak, the poor, the tired, and the thirsty, but in the song, “Alive Again,” Maher sings about a dark night of the soul, as he sings, “I woke up in darkness surrounded by silence. Oh where, where have I gone? I woke to reality losing its grip on me. Oh where, where have I gone?” Have you ever felt like the darkness is about to swallow you up in your loneliness? Maher sings, “You called and You shouted. Broke through my deafness. Now I'm breathing in and breathing out. I'm alive again,” so this song will help you out of the darkness and lift your spirit into the light where you too can sign, “I’m alive again,” thanks be to God.
The song, “The Words I Would say” by Sidewalk Prophets, is a very stirring and uplifting song, but it is also an honest look at the hard times that every believer will experience in their walk with God. They sing at “Three in the morning, And I'm still awake, So I picked up a pen and a page, And I started writing, Just what I'd say,” so “Be strong in the Lord and, Never give up hope, You're going to do great things, I already know” and remember, “God's got His hand on you so, Don't live life in fear, Forgive and forget” and “Thank God for or each day” because “His love will find a way.”
The song, “You Are More” by Tenth Avenue North focuses on a young girl who’s “in the corner. With tear stains on her eyes. From the places she's wandered. And the shame she can't hide” and so she cries out, “She says, how did I get here? I'm not who I once was. And I'm crippled by the fear. That I've fallen too far to love.” For the believer in Christ, we can sing to Him, we “are more than the choices that you've made, You are more than the sum of your past mistakes” and “You are more than the problems you create, You've been remade,” and it is worth praising God for being remade into a new creation in Christ (2nd Cor 5:17).
Kari Jobe’s song, “Steady My Heart,” is such tender song that reflects on the hurt that we all experience, and that a broken heart is a tender heart, but all is not lost as Jobe sings, “Even when it hurts. Even when it’s hard. Even when it all just falls apart” we can “run to You” oh God. When there is no other place to turn to or no one else to run, run to God because as she sings, He is the “Lover of my soul” and the “Healer of my scars” and “You will steady my heart” in uncertain times. But don’t lose heart because we know that we’re “not gonna worry. I know that You got me. Right inside of the palm of Your hand,” showing that God is still on His throne, even threw the pain and heartbreak…and even when it hurts, He will steady your heart.
These lyrics are words that I personally identify but I believe we can all identify with as John Wilson sings, “Before the Morning” and asks, “Do you wonder why you have to feel the things that hurt you? If there's a God who loves you where is He now? Or maybe there are things you can't see. And all those things are happening to bring a better ending. Someday, somehow you'll see, you'll see.” So, “why you have to feel the things that hurt you? If there's a God who loves you where is He now? Or maybe there are things you can't see. And all those things are happening to bring a better ending. Someday, somehow you'll see, you'll see,” it just might not be this side of heaven. We are told to trust God and know that it’s “just the dark before the morning.”
“What Love Really Means” by JJ Heller is a moving song that speaks to the lonely hearts that have been through a time of heartbreaking loneliness where “He cries in the corner where nobody sees,” and he's the kid with the story. No one would believe. He prays every night. “Dear God won't you please. Could you send someone here. Who will love me?” and up to this point, he says it’s, “'Cause nobody has shown me what love. What love really means. ” This could be anyone’s story, like a wife who says, “She's the woman whose husband has run away. She'll go to the gym after working today. Maybe if she was thinner. Then he would've stayed. And she says. Who will love me for me. Not for what I have done?” As she prays this prayer through tears, God answers her; “I will love you for you. Not for what you have done. Or what you will become. I will love you for you.”
When you are experiencing times of loneliness, the last thing you need to do is to isolate yourself. You need the prayers, fellowship, and love of the saints who can surround you with prayers and lift you up to the Lord for His blessings and a love that is unconditional…a love that never dies. God has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5), even when everyone else has.
Article by Jack Wellman