We all know songs that trigger an emotional response, a feeling, that takes you back to a specific point in the past. You hear it, maybe put it on repeat, and you get caught in this nostalgic loop for a bit. There is something in the movement of the notes or the lyrics that put you right there again. To a person. A season. A place. It’s enjoyable for a moment, but then suddenly it’s not. Because you realize, you can’t go back. When the song is over, and the comforting flashback is gone, it’s back to the reality of the hard things in life today. But what if there was a song that triggered something different, instead of pulling you back, it points you forward? A song that isn’t nostalgic but provides a future hope even though your current reality is confusing, heavy, threatening. You know that kind of life? The “cave life”, where you feel trapped, tired, hunted, and buried under fear, or grief, or pressure, or confusion, or disappointment? Maybe even shame or guilt. It’s such a deep, dark pit, one that you possibly may have even dug yourself into. In that situation, we need something more than a song that makes us nostalgic. Those kinds of songs cannot provide any hope of escaping whatever tomb your soul is stuck in. A tomb of grief, loss, sorrow, broken relationships, politics, culture wars, bitterness, anger, resentment or obsession. We need a different kind of song in our playlist. One so good we can’t help but sing it over & over in our heart & mind. A song that provides real hope. A song about how to get out of whatever hopeless tomb you are stuck in. This morning I’m going to teach you a new song like that. A song David wrote & probably had on repeat in his cave. Because some of you here this Easter, like David was, are stuck in a deep dark cave. You don’t need any more songs about the past. You need a song with truth strong enough to get you out of the tombs your heart is trapped in.
