Singing songs of praise can help serve as a stress reliever. It’s one way to confront worry when your personal peace is threatened. As Scripture says, Christians are to give thanks to God in all things (Philippians 4:6). Songs of thanksgiving should always be present in your spiritual arsenal. When Mary learned she would carry and give birth to the Christ child, she wrote and sang a song called “The Magnificat” (Luke 1:46-55). It was a profound song of faith and praise. I wonder if she also sang this song as she watched her beloved son die on the cross? Simeon lifted praises to God when he realized who Jesus was. He had waited so long for God’s Messiah to come. Finally, he had seen him. In response, he composed a song known as the “Nunc Dimittis,” or the Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32). The reality of Jesus just had to be sung about! I wonder if Simeon sang this song regularly for the rest of his life? As a reminder of God’s goodness to him and his people? After observing the birth of the Christ child, the heavenly hosts – a kind of military choir – sang to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). Was the eternal heavenly choir’s message to the shepherds God’s way of suggesting that heavenly music could help bring peace to the anxious souls of his children on earth? Before his crucifixion and after his last meal, Jesus sang songs of praise with his disciples (Matthew 26:30). Did singing help lift any anxious thoughts before he faced the horrific pain of the cross? Was he giving us an example to follow when we face our own worry-filled moments and trials? God didn’t have to create this marvelous gift of singing, but he did. He must love music. Heaven is filled with it, and we will hear it forever. And God must have known that music would help us on this side of eternity as well. Ponder this: God not only loves music, he invented it. All the chords, harmonies, and different constructions came from his musical mind. Shouldn’t we use this gift to defeat all God’s foes now – including anxiety? When the enemy attacks, counterpunch by lifting up songs of praise from God’s Word. Doing this has aided countless people through the centuries. It will work for you as well. And for your kids. And for all God’s people everywhere. Anxiety need not ransack your heart anymore.