Baking Christmas cookies, worship music plays in the background. The words are a balm to my soul as I enjoy time with the Lord. Mixing the ingredients to make those sweet treats to bless my family, I’m grateful for this moment with God. I experience peace in my soul as I take a deep breath and ponder my Savior’s love for me.

As I reflect, my knees weaken by the truth of being so loved by the God of the universe. I see evidence in my life of how He has blessed me physically and spiritually. He blessed me even when I was angry at Him and chose not to turn to Him in my struggles. He wraps me in His love anyway.

Finding the words to express my thankfulness for His continuing presence in my life can be a struggle. His unending love is hard to grasp at times. That’s why I appreciate those who create worship music.

The message of God’s faithfulness and love is woven throughout our old hymns and in our contemporary Christian music. Worship songs remind us of His promised love. A love that is so vast it is wider and longer across the horizon than we can imagine and is higher and deeper than our eyes could ever see. (Ephesians 3:18) His love is more than our imaginations can conjure up. The words in songs capture what we struggle to express.

Music is powerful, creating waves of emotion in us. Sometimes we experience foot-stomping joy, a sense of reverence, or a river of tears, depending on the song. Praising God through song changes our perspective. Our singing and praising become intensely personal, holy moments between our Savior and us. As we sing, giving our whole being to Him, our perspective changes, our heart rate slows, and our eyes open to His tender love. In that moment, we can claim the peace that only comes through Jesus.

God uses worship music to weave our lives more fully into His. Through music and the promises in His Word, He teaches us we will experience His blessings as we rest in Him, surrender, and seek to be obedient. As we more closely follow Him, He weaves the lives of His followers together through prayer. I marvel at the brilliance He creates through us.

Last week, my knees were weak once again. My kidney donor and I spent the day together as we returned to the hospital where I received her gift of a precious kidney. The hospital has a beautiful wall dedicated to honoring the living donors who sacrificed an organ to save another. Kristina’s name is up on that wall. It was an emotional experience for us as we celebrated her gift. We took pictures, shed a few tears, and rejoiced at how God orchestrated the joining of our lives.

Three years later, we are both grateful for how the Lord has grown our faith. We’ve had some rough days over the last few years and struggled to see Him in the moment. But the knowledge of His unending love and faithfulness are the rock upon which we stand. We trust He will continue to intricately weave our lives with His for our good and His glory.

May you realize the depth of God’s love for you this Christmas. Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but let us also celebrate the gift of His loving sacrifice, which enables us to be united with Him today and for all eternity.

Merry Christmas.