Last year (2023) Sanctuary Mental Health and The Porters Gate released ‘Sing over me‘. It’s a beautiful song. The first time I heard it I was in floods of tears – because it could have helped me through depression years ago. The words are so powerful…
When I am lost inside my mind/ Sing me the hope I cannot find/ When my despair has left me blind/ Sing me the tune I’ve left behind.
Will you sing over me, sing over me? /Will you sing over me?/ Sing of the goodness I cannot see/ Will you sing over me?
When all the grief pours through my hands/ I can’t feel anything but shame/ When I’ve forgotten who I am/ Sing out and give me back my name.
Will you sing over me, sing over me?/ Will you sing over me?/ Sing of the goodness I cannot see/ Will you sing over me?
When I sink down beneath the fear/ The weight is more than I can bear/ Keep singing though I cannot hear/ Someday, I’ll sing for you, I swear.
It talks about being lost in your mind
When depressed I was lost a lot of the time. It felt like I couldn’t escape my mind and the negative thoughts would go round and round drawing me deeper into despair. But God has changed things since then…
This autumn (2023), I struggled with sleep for a variety of reasons and my brain would just not switch off. So I decided to invite the Holy Spirit to renew my mind (Rom 12:1-2). Over several months I prayed in the evening: “Lord, please give me a peaceful night’s sleep so I wake with energy to face the day. And if I don’t sleep let me rest calmly without thoughts racing.” And in the morning: “Thank you Lord for peace last night. You’re truly transforming things.”
While I haven’t slept well every night since I started praying, I have been peaceful. There’ve been no anxiety-induced tears making me frustrated and even less likely to sleep. When awake I’ve been able to lay and rest calmly, thinking nice things or nothing at all, my body feeling relaxed. And I’ve been able to face most days well. Praise God!
I can’t believe how far I’ve come since the depression days. This autumn my first thought was: “Ask God to renew your mind.” And I did. Previously, it was a very half-hearted last resort (if ever).
It asks others to sing of the goodness you can’t see
If you can’t see goodness, this song asks others to do it for you. To sing over you when you’re so blinded by the darkness nothing seems good, including God. This is what happened to me…
When I was struggling to come to terms with having CFS/ME I found it impossible to understand that God was good, all the time. How could He be when He’d let my life become what it was? But, in His goodness (haha!) He let me vent my frustrations and guided me to see He truly could be good despite my circumstances. I read through an amazing book from Rick Warren (Living in the Goodness of God, 2018), sang a lot in the quiet, prayed and meditated regularly, and gradually I got it! I’m not sure I could explain it to you but I know God has transformed the part of me that didn’t believe He was good. When I was depressed I certainly didn’t think it. To be honest, I don’t think my mind functioned well enough to consider it.
But what a difference now. I can praise Him in the middle of life’s storms even when I don’t feel like it. Like King David often did (e.g. Ps. 109:28-30). And that itself remind’s me God is good.
It mentions feeling nothing but shame
Wow! So true.
Sometimes when depressed I couldn’t face seeing people and went to bed instead! Although I couldn’t put it into words at the time, I now know I had a deep sense of shame. And it was telling me all sorts of untruths: “They don’t like you. You’re not good enough. You’re useless. There’s no point in doing any thing because nobody wants you. No one loves you.”
Although I’ve been free of depression since 2014, some bits of the shame that I believe caused it in the first place were still hanging on at the start of 2023. But I believe I’ve finally slayed it now…
Last January I received a word from God (via a Christian friend) that said:
“Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.” – Psalm 34: 5 (NLT)
After the initial tears as I realised I still had a layer of shame to shed, and the apprehension as I knew the next few days would be emotionally draining, I thanked God for the release that was to come.
And it did.
A week later I realised I was free. Yay!
At first I wondered how many more layers of my shame onion remained to be peeled away. But, at least up to now, there have been no more. And I was able to love Jesus in a way I’d never known before. It’s beautiful.
So could this song help you manage depression and other life challenges?
Yes, I believe it could. When I was depressed it might have inspired me to ask others to “Sing over me.” Despite the shame plaguing me I might have asked for their prayers. My mind might have been renewed more quickly and I might have understood the goodness of God earlier. But 20 years ago I didn’t even realise I could get people to do that.
If you’re facing any difficult circumstances, particularly if you’re struggling mentally, I encourage you to ask someone to sing over you. If you can’t deal with physically being with them, I’m sure they’ll pray and sing for you anyway. I certainly will 😁
God bless xx