God's Grammy Winners

The old adage “music makes the world go around” is always on display at the Grammy awards. The big winners at the 2009 Grammy awards were an interesting pairing. Old school rocker and the lead singer from “Led”, Robert Plant and folksy bluegrass bred singer of all trades Alison Krause teamed up to produce the album of the year Most critics have called that album “Raising Sand” one of the most original works of music in awhile. Other well known and chart topping acts such as Duffy, Katy Perry and Leona Lewis took home awards too. But I wonder how many people know who took home the award for best Gospel album of the year?

I find it interesting that long before Edison invented the phonograph or Bach composed his first concerto, music had been an integral part of humanity in most every culture. That is not surprising because the history of music began before the planet was even created. “Oh really” you may be thinking. Absolutely. Check it out.

In Job chapter 38 the bible tells us that when God was creating the heavens and the earth, the angels were singing. Even more mind blowing is that the bible seems to insinuate that before he turned into the bad boy head of demons that he is, Satan himself may have been in charge of worship and the heavenly choir. The two Scripture passages that describe Satan before he fell are Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-15 it states Satan was the “anointed cherub”. The angels are in constant worship, Satan was the head angel before he fell, so seems to reason he could have led the worship, but it is unknown to us for certain.

Irrespective of Satan’s influence on music in heaven according to one rock legend it is alive and well on earth. Rock and Roll hall of famer David Bowie in Rolling Stone magazine (Feb. 12, 1976), stunned the music world, when he stated:"Rock has always been THE DEVIL'S MUSIC . . . I believe rock and roll is dangerous . . . I feel we're only heralding SOMETHING EVEN DARKER THAN OURSELVES." (Rolling Stone, Feb. 12, 1976)

While I do not think Satan is behind every rock song ever recorded, the point is, music has a big influence on many people and it seems to make sense that it can be used to promote good or bad. Back to the bible, there is this insightful passage from 2 Kings 3:15 “But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that he hand of the Lord came upon him.”

The “him” referred to is the mighty prophet Elisha. As the praise music was ascending, Elisha tuned into the voice of the Lord and received instruction regarding what Israel had to do in the face of a dreadful drought. I think this is so cool because it shows the Lord working in the midst of background music! It is the presence of worship and praise that the Holy Spirit is able to work most creatively and effectively.

For me this rings so true. I have an extensive music collection, played semi professionally in a horn band for 10 years and dj’d for several more. At each gig I saw firsthand the impact music has on people. After all, “if you want the people to move you have to pick the right groove.” Corny I know but it’s true. But the impact of contemporary Christian music on my life has been profound. More on that in the next SpirtSeek entry. But for now, I can tell you that my walk with God is strengthened in a powerful way when I tune into music that draws my attention to Him. So if you need to hear from God, pray, read His word and by all means, do like Elisha did and crank up some praise music and then listen to what God whispers to your spirit.

Oh, and by the way, the winner of the 2009 Grammy award for best rock/rap Christian album of the year was Toby Mac for his CD “Alive and Transported.” If you are not aware of what today’s Christian themed music has to offer check out Toby. You may even hear from God!