Morning DJ – Seneca Schurbon

God sings to me sometimes. I’ll bet He sings to you too. It comes disguised as that song that is in your head for no apparent reason. Sometimes He can sound a lot like U2 or the Scorpions.

God is a prime suspect when you can’t track it back to something you just heard on the radio or in a movie. For me, it usually happens first thing in the morning, before my mind has been filled with other songs that I pick up here and there throughout the day that find residence in my brain. When you first wake up, you are fresh out of the spirit realm, whether you realize it or not, and you’re still very receptive.

The first time I really noticed this, and recognized it as God, I had just woken up, and I was lying in bed praying. I got into a very worshipful state where I could feel Him hovering close, and I could feel His heart melting for me. Then I heard the beginning of “You are the sunshine of my life.”

I giggled and rolled up in a ball in the sheet. “Is that… Stevie Wonder? You mean God likes secular music?”

I sang back, “You are so beautiful to me.” I threw in the bad high notes for the extra giggle factor.

What a way to wake up.

The early morning wake-up music continued, and I had an easy enough time accepting the love songs as being from God. Of course that jives with His character, right? This part was fun. And I could even feel a relief as I left my boss’s office for the millionth time in tears, listening to “O-oh Child.” But I was having a hard time with where it went next.

I started getting direction, strategy, and answers via the songs. Now those things are definitely my love language, so that was not the problem. I place a high value on this type of communication from God. But I felt that I was having to put a lot of trust into a way of hearing that I had previously not taken very seriously. “I mean, it’s just a song in my head.”

One song was telling me something I needed to pass on to someone else. One of them was even telling me where someone was spending their afterlife. Beyond that, He was using rap and rock and even some German metal. It seemed nothing was off limits or too “unsacred” to use, and I’m as susceptible to fear of deception as the next person. I had hit my trust limit. I was questioning all this.

The morning after severe doubts, I woke up and heard the chorus to the Harry Chapin song “W.O.L.D.” I would love to quote that for you, but I would hate to get Praying Medic into a copyright infringement suit. I’ll just say it was incredible confirmation that left me roaring with laughter. You’ll have to check it out if you don’t know that one. God is so clever! Clever enough to make a believer out of me.

He also confirmed the heavy stuff by asking me to Google an abstract phrase, and I’ve gotten much more comfortable with this form of communication.

Now that doesn’t mean that I think every song in my head is from God. And it doesn’t mean that I take the whole song as having His stamp of approval.

Generally, the only part of the song that you’re hearing is most likely the only part that you need to get. You can Google the lyrics and take what makes sense, but some of those songs have lyrics that aren’t necessarily anointed. You might think of this in the way that certain parts of the Bible will resonate more strongly with you in certain instances. A song you’ve heard all your life and never particularly paid attention to might suddenly have new meaning in the right timing and context of your life.

This has escalated to the songs interpreting my dreams. The most confusing thing about dreams for me is that the people are never who they seem to be. All the “She is me” and the “He represents them.” It’s all so bewilderingly symbolic.

Last night I dreamt of a man on a platform speaking. I was there too; the innocent bystander. Then he disappeared, and it was just me with a walrus who was making walrus noises in my ear. I woke up with the “what the heck?” question looming. Not even a second passed, and I heard the opening line to the Beatles’ “I am the Walrus.”

“Ok, I think I got it!” You know God was just having fun there. There would have been other ways to make that point. None as entertaining, though.

I’ve never liked the Beatles, but I hit Wikipedia over this lyric. Apparently John Lennon wanted to write the most confusing song possible, and this was the result. I bet he never dreamed it would be used by God to unconfuse me.

So why does He use secular music? Probably because Christian music has mostly been about us singing to Him. This is changing, though. There is a sub-genre arising called “spontaneous prophetic worship” where the singer becomes a mouthpiece for what God wants to say. Lilyband, Reeni Mederos, and Joann McFatter are a few examples.

Still, I think secular music has done an excellent job filling the void, considering the sources. I mean, Lindsay Buckingham singing about building you a kingdom because of a big love? Come on!

I know I’m referencing a lot of old songs. I think it’s because those are the ones I can believe. I can hear “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars and blow it off, because I just heard it on the radio. And it’s in that movie that my husband and all my friends like to watch over and over again. An old song that I didn’t just hear seems more trustworthy to me. You might know differently, and your belief system might give God more room to DJ than I do. Good on you!

So if you get a song in your head and go, “Where’d that come from?” Think about the lyrics. Does it sound like something God would say to you? Pay attention when you first wake up. Maybe a sticky note on the bathroom mirror to remind you to listen? And when in doubt, Google the lyrics.

If you get a song with some derogatory or sexual content in the lyrics, don’t freak out. It probably means that’s not the part of the song you need to focus on. Usually, it will just be the piece that runs through your head, but occasionally it will be the all-around intent of the song. I hope you enjoy the love songs, the encouragement, the strategy, and the revelation from your Morning DJ.

This is an excerpt from the book God Speaks, which is $0.99 for a limited time.