Everyone has a theme song.  A song that has become a part of you.  A song that when it is played, no matter what the situation, will resonate with your soul.  It is a song that speaks truth to your life in where you have been, where you are now, and where you are going.  This week my church is launching a social media campaign to spread hope through sharing our very own theme songs.  It is my honor and privilege to share with you all a song that has given me hope through the years since I have found Christ.  It is a song that I sing to my boys every night before they go to bed, and my go to song in the middle of the night to calm them during a nightmare.  That song is Aaron Shust’s “My Savior, My God.”

Growing up as a kid, I didn’t truly know Christ.  Yes, my parents took me to church and to Sunday school and I was baptized in 5^th grade with the rest of the 5^th graders, but my life outside of Sunday was spent in a somewhat worldly manner.  Christian music wasn’t my thing.  I went through that hard rock and alternative rock phase in high school and college that led me astray on an occasion or two.  I thought people who listened to Christian music were a bit over the top.  Bible bangers I used to call them.  It wasn’t until I met my beautiful wife in 2006 that I was exposed to modern Christian music.  My church had always sung traditional Christian hymns, but hers sang contemporary Christian.  At first I crinkled my nose to it, but as the songs became more familiar to me, I realized how much I needed them.

Shust’s song “My Savior, My God” was one of the first songs that wove its way into my heart.  When he sings, “You count it strange, so once did I,” I recall those days when Christian music wasn’t on my playlist.  The hardcore truth, however, comes next when Shust sings, “My Savior loves, my Savior lives, my Savior’s always there for me.  My God He was, my God He is, my God He’s always gonna be.”  That amazes me.  Even when I doubted Him, He was with me.  Even when I scoffed at Him, He believed in me.  Jesus Christ was my God then, He is my God now, and He will always be my God.  My lifeline.  My rock.  My redeemer.  Hebrews 13: 8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  Who here on earth can give that type of unconditional love?  This song reminds me that Christ is the only constant in my life that never wavers, never fails, never changes.

I likewise connect to the beginning of the song when Shust sings, “I am not skilled to understand what God has willed what God has planned.”  Ever feel that way?  Life throws you a curve ball and you might even question what the Big Guy has in store for you.  Four years ago, I was going through the worst depression of my life.  My world was caving in.  I never stopped believing in God, but I didn’t believe in myself.  I certainly questioned at that time in my life what God was doing to me, but in reflection I now realize I needed to be humbled.  God took every broken part of my life away from me, cleansed me, and made me anew.  Though we may not understand God’s will for us, that is where faith comes in.  Following those lyrics above, Schust reminds us, “I only know at His right hand stands one who is my Savior.”  I love that thought.  That thought says that my life may be in shambles, but, Jesus, I still trust in You.  You are the only one that can pull me through.

I love my theme song.  Sadly, through the years the song has become a bit numb to me.  Due to the fact that I sing it every night to my boys, I sometimes take it for granted.  Many times I sing it without soaking in the lyrics.  But then there are those times when I hear it on the radio or in worship on Sunday or even when I sing it to my boys in the dead of the night to put them back to sleep; it is during those times that the song strikes a chord in my heart that spills tears from my eyes.  Happy tears.  Tears of sheer joy that make me wonder why He loves me even when I might turn my back on Him at times.  I don’t deserve that love, but He gives it to me unconditionally no matter what.  I like that!  Jesus Christ is my everything.  Psalm 18: 2 expresses that perfectly when it states, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Christian teachers, I hope Jesus is the same for you.

So, friends, I have a question for you.  What is your theme song?  What songs are on your playlist?  I’d love to hear some replies below this week!  Twenty years ago my playlist included the likes of Def Leppard, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, and Metallica.  Now?  It includes the likes of Matthew West, Chris Tomlin, Big Daddy Weave, and MercyMe.  The Newsboys, Josh Wilson, Mandisa, and David Crowder.  Brit Nicole, Jeremy Camp, Casting Crowns, and of course Aaron Shust.  Your music makes you who you are.  If you digest trash, that is exactly what will be expelled from your every essence.  If you inhale the beauty of songs that uplift the spirit, your day just goes that much smoother.  Soak these songs in.  Don’t take them for granted!  Play them in your plan hour when you’re busy grading papers.  Listen to them on the radio to and from work.  When you take in these songs on a consistent basis, they become a part of you.  And who knows, if you don’t have a theme song yet, you may just find one.  Listen for it.

(Is there any question what song is going to appear down here this week?  Friends, there is a reason I end every blog with a song.  There is a reason why I created the tab to the right of this blog that has tons of youtube links to songs that have changed my life.  Do me a favor.  Listen to this song below.  Let Aaron Shust remind you through his song “My Savior, My God” that Jesus Christ will never change.  His love will reign supreme forever.)