If you're a human being and you exist, chances are you've experienced pain before. It's a hard and unpleasant fact of life, an inescapable reality. We often turn toward music in those times. Writing or listening, we put our headphones on and immerse ourselves in songs that let us dwell on this pain.
In my experience, the songs that have helped me the most weren't written by Adele, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran or even Beyoncé (sorry, Queen Bey). The ones I go back to are the ones that remind me of the only way to be truly and deeply healed: in the arms of Jesus.
1. "In Control" by Hillsong Worship.
And though the seas are raging
You will speak and tame them
In You I find my rest
You are in control
This song has been on repeat for me lately, speaking exactly to my current situation. When there's suffering and tragedy and nothing seems to make sense, we have to remember that God is in control, and He will never fail us.
2. "The Garden" by Kari Jobe.
You will stop at nothing
To heal my broken soul
If you were to only listen to one song from this list, it should be this one.
This song paints a poignant picture of the journey from hopelessness to rediscovering hope, while reminding us of God's Father heart, His desire to heal and comfort each individual.
3. "I Will Sing" by Kari Jobe.
Even when my breath is weak
I will sing, I will sing
Even in my suffering
I will sing, I will sing
This album was written after a particularly painful chapter in Kari's life, as I've heard, and it's evident in every track. Her pain—and faith—are real, akin to the Psalmist's cries to God in the Old Testament. The night my family experienced a particularly hard loss, we worshiped and cried to this song together.
4. "I Am Not Alone" by Kari Jobe.
I am not alone
You will go before me
You will never leave me
Largely based on Isaiah 43, "I Am Not Alone" reminds us that when we face deep waters, the fire, the valley of the shadow, deep sorrow, and even the darkest of nights, Christ is our refuge and will be faithful to bring healing. No matter how far away God seems or how abandoned we feel, He has never left.
5. "Find You On My Knees" by Kari Jobe.
So what if sorrow shakes my faith?
What if heartache still remains?
I'll trust You
My God, I'll trust You
I constantly go back to this one because it reminds me that I don't have to wait to be in a better place emotionally in order to connect with God. I can find Him, right here in the place that I'm in—even if that place is on my knees, broken and at the end of myself.
6. "You Are For Me" by Kari Jobe.
I know that You are for me
I know that You will never
Forsake me in my weakness
When there's pain and hardship in our lives, we need to remember that God has not forgotten us and given us over to Satan for him to do as he wishes with us. Instead, He is actively for us, and no circumstance will ever change that.
7. "Pieces" by Bethel.
Your love's not broken
It's not insecure
Your love's not selfish
Your love is pure
Sometimes God doesn't seem like who He says He is in His Word. Our hurt and circumstances scream louder than the Truth, insisting that a God who allows suffering isn't a God who loves. Every line in this song—especially the bridge—repeats truth after truth from the Word of God, reminding us of what His love really is.
8. "Not For A Moment (After All)" by Vertical Church Band.
In my hurt, at my worst
When my world falls down
Not for a moment will You forsake me
A sense of abandonment tends to creep in when our eyes are on our painful situation instead of on Him. But the truth is that He has never left, not even for one moment. This song is a battle cry against the lies that He's gone.
9. "Satisfied In You (Psalm 42)" The Sing Team.
Let my sighs give way to songs that sing about Your faithfulness
Let my pain reveal Your glory as my only real rest
Let my losses show me all I truly have is You
Based entirely off of Psalm 42, as the title suggests, this track matches David's tone of overwhelming depression and of a downcast and disturbed soul. It offers not only relatable lines in regards to what sorrow feels like, but it brings listeners along on the journey of still choosing to trust in Him.
10. "Please Be My Strength" Gungor.
I've tried to stand my ground
I've tried to understand
But I can't seem to find my faith again...
Please be my strength
'Cause I don't have any more
I don't have many articulate words for this one except hunsdsajhfdjs. The melody. The instruments. Gungor's voice. The lyrics. It's a subdued cry for help from someone tired and weary, but still longing to be whole again.
11. "Hold Me Together" by Loud Harp.
When my heart is giving out - You hold me together
When I'm tired and alone - You hold me together
When I've lost all I own - You hold me together
It doesn't matter what we're facing or the troubles we're going through—God will be there to hold us together. When I feel like I'm falling apart and nothing makes sense anymore, I turn on this song and remember the Truth: I can't fall apart when His arms are wrapped tightly around me.
12. "Your Love Is Better" by Will Reagan & United Pursuit.
Will You guide me through the night?
Will You calm the storms of my life?
'Cause all these walls I've built are comfortable
And the world outside is loud
If you're anything like me, then pain makes you pull away from relationships, including your relationship with God. It's easier to put up walls and trust in ourselves, certain we don't need His guidance or presence. But when we finally relent and let our defenses down, we find the warmth of His love, and it's better than anything else.
13. "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North.
I'll be by your side whenever you call
In the dead of night whenever you fall
Please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
An oldie but a goodie. This song played at my maternal grandfather's funeral, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It's a good reminder that the best love is the faithful and constant love of God, and He'll always be there.
14. "Worn" by Tenth Avenue North.
My soul feels crushed
By the weight of this world
But I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left
I can't tell you how many times I've passionately sung along to this song. It's the opposite of Gungor's "Please Be My Strength"; it deals with the very same issue of being worn and weary, but the tone is energetic and desperate where Gungor's is mellow. The chorus is a cry for assurance, for hope at the end of the tunnel and for healing.
15. "Everything Falls" by Fee.
Sorrow will last for the night
But hope is rising with the sun, it's rising with the sun
There will be storms in this life
But I know You will overcome, You have overcome
God is our only hope in the face of pain. When everything seems to fall apart and there's darkness and tragedy all around, when we it takes too much strength to carry on, He holds us in His strong arms, and He keeps holding on.
16. "Cry of the Broken" by Hillsong Worship.
You're the mender of the broken
To every outcast
A friend and comforter...
You hear the cry of the broken
You answer the cry of the broken
The greatest display of Christ's love is the cross, and from there is the source of our healing and salvation. The same God that died in our place, taking the punishment we deserved, and viewed us, His enemies, as the joy set before Him is the God who hears and answers the cry of the broken. That same love that sent Him to the cross is the love that sends Him to our aide.
17. "You Hold Me Now" by Hillsong United.
No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering
You hold me now, You hold me now
We may face pain now, but there will be no such thing in the life to come. This song is a great reminder to look ahead to the day we get to actually embrace Jesus and know that this pain and this life are temporary, but joy and peace and rest and Jesus Himself are ours for eternity.
I hope these songs have ministered to you as much as they've ministered to me.
If you're hurting and in pain, know that there is hope. And until that hope arrives, there is comfort, peace and love in the arms of Jesus. I hope you find it.
