Welcome my friend Sarah Griffith, a student at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) where she learns theology and how to communicate it creatively. A wife and mother, Sarah works in the DTS Spiritual Formation Department. Her passions include writing and caring for all her animals. Find her on Instagram at @sarahkgriffi. This post was published the day after Christmas, a few weeks after Taylor Swift was named TIME’s Person of the Year. Consider these devotionals as you stare down the last week of 2023! They’re great any time after that, too.
Introduction
What kind of seminary student writes a devotional about Taylor Swift songs? Well, this kind. Not sure we should call these songs anointed. Grandmothers will clutch their pearls if we play them on Sunday morning. Will I cite Taylor Swift in my theology papers? Not even a little bit! I affirm God created everyone and everything on earth, including Taylor. Believers or not, God can use things he created to point people to him or teach truth about life on earth. Remember, he used a donkey in the Old Testament. Lest you compare dear Taylor to a donkey, hear me say this, God used these songs to help me. As a believer, my sanctified imagination grabs these lyrics and presents them before the throne of God, and he helps me hold them in a new light. The light helps me sing out when my deep pain can only find expression in song. These songs help me sing over a situation or person that has hurt me when Jesus wants me to love them, not hate them. And these songs help me celebrate when I need to, or just cry when I need to.
I pray you will journey to encouragement with me through this small selection of my most dear Taylor Swift songs.
Day 1
“White Horse“
Scripture Reference: Revelation 19:11–16
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” p He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.
Taylor Swift Lyrics
That I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale, I’m not the one you’ll sweep off her feet, lead her up the stairwell. This ain’t Hollywood this is a small town. I was a dreamer before you went and let me down. Now it’s too late for you and your white horse to come around.
Devotional Thought
Life on earth feels sad, scary, and overwhelming. Don’t deny it or we’ll call you delusional. Evil wins all the time. Good people lose. The stress and sadness of life on earth make us dream of a hero on a white horse coming to save us. Avengers: End Game made billions of dollars selling to moviegoers the idea of a hero who saves us. The Avengers stole that storyline right from the Bible.
In the final battle of good versus evil, Jesus rides in on a white horse leading the greatest army ever to walk the earth. King of kings and Lord of lords! He stomps on evil as a woman stomping grapes in a winepress. Jesus, the ultimate hero. No other hero compares to him.
But sometimes, I forget about Jesus riding in on a white horse. I see something or someone else riding to me on a white horse, and for a second that rider looks better than Jesus. And then, the thing on a white horse lets me down, and I must reorient myself all over again back to Jesus, the ultimate Savior on the white horse. Anything I trust short of Jesus, to ease the pain on earth, will disappoint me.
Sing this song with me as we lament one of those times we have forgotten to ignore the lesser white horse rider (a fake hero could look like a person, a job, money, etc). We got our hopes up for the wrong thing. Disappointment has snapped us back to the reality of Jesus in our life.
Prayer
Jesus, sorry we looked to something else to ease the pain of life on earth. Please, by the power of God, help us lament our waywardness and reorient ourselves back to trust you to save us. You alone hold the title of ultimate white horse-riding Savior, thank you!
Day 2
“Change“
Scripture Reference: Revelation 22:1–5
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Taylor Swift Lyrics
Because these things will change. Can you feel it now? These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down. It’s a revolution, the time will come for us to finally win. And we’ll sing hallelujah, we’ll sing hallelujah!
Devotional Thought
I woke up this morning to a war in Israel, just a few miles from the very place I stood a few months ago. Upon picking up my phone, I saw a texted picture from a friend of a group of people in Africa who thirst because they need a freshwater well. I lament their thirst in the time it takes to fill my water jug from a filtered water dispenser. My daughter struggles with OCD and every morning I worry about the battle going on in her mind. I search for a solution for a dear friend’s desperate search to find a better way to reach young women victimized by the sex trafficking trade because, yet another precious woman, has slipped through the cracks. Mourning with the sweetest person I know over the loss of a pregnancy. A heavy-hearted morning and it was only 7:00 AM.
Imagine the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree heal the warring nations. No curse. Oh, yeah, we behold this scene from Revelation we will sing Hallelujah!! No more curse, which means no more war, no more sadness, no more abuse, no more death, no more pain, just overcomers enjoying eternity with Jesus. No more mornings like this where my heart feels like it will fall out of my chest because of the sad weight. I can’t wait for things to change. When I sing this song, I pray for Jesus to come and heal this world. We need him to change things.
Prayer
Jesus, only you can fix this world. We as followers of Jesus display small glimmers of what a life saved from death means for eternity. Help us today focus on your eternity and develop in us a heart that wants to link arms with the lost so we can all walk into eternity together.
Day 3
“Dear John“
Scripture Reference: Romans 7:21–25
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Taylor Swift Lyrics
Long were the nights when my days once revolved around you. Counting my footsteps praying the floor won’t fall through again. And my mother accused me of losing my mind, but I swore I was fine.
Devotional Thought
Have you ever thought of sending yourself a “Dear John” letter? Do you ever get sick of the boneheaded things you do over and over? Do you feel the two different personalities that live inside you as a Jesus follower? One persona in me loves Jesus and wants nothing more than to put God first, read the bible, minister to the lost, feed the poor, and love neighbors. Let’s call that persona “The Spirit Me (or you)” The other “me” revolts against everything Jesus stands for. Let’s call that person “Old Me (or you).” Old Me talks like an insane toddler who yells “Mine!” or “No!” But Old Me also acts like an insane teenager that yells, “Screw you!” or “Give me another drink/hit/partner!” But adult Old Me unashamedly yells, “Give me more money!” or “I’m the most important person in the whole world!” Sometimes I get so sick of this Old Me that I want to break up with her.
I’ll have to wait until I meet him in eternity, but I bet Paul nods his head along to this song too. He knows the fight that goes on and wants to break up with his old self too. He said, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death,” in his letter to the Romans. Old Paul, old me and old you look forward to death. Death! I for sure want to break up with death, don’t you?
As Jesus-followers we get to do that! Paul tells us “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” We can send our old self and death a “Dear John Letter” because Jesus saves us from death! Sing this song with me as when you weary of the battle between Spirit you and old you. Sing it loud and maybe it will scare the old you into submission!
Prayer
Jesus, we get so tired of fighting the part of us who stands against everything you believe in. Help us break up with the Old Self and focus on our Spirit Self. Thank you for making a way for us to break up with our old self and death.
Day 4
“Mean“
Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:43–48
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Taylor Swift Lyrics
You, with your words like knives and swords and weapons that you use against me. You have knocked me off my feet again, got me feeling like I’m nothing.
Devotional Thought
I got publicly shamed this week. Gosh, it embarrassed me and hurt! I cried on my drive home because no matter how old you get it still hurts when people are mean to you. We know as believers the world will hate us like the world hated Jesus. Jesus tells us to love our enemies in the Sermon on the Mount. But what happens when we get hurt by another brother or sister believer? We can’t call them enemies because Jesus made them our family. So what do we do with that?
Well, I don’t know if a right answer exists, but I offer to you what I did in hopes that it will help you too. Knowing from Jesus’ words that I should love everyone, I needed to work through my hurt feelings by singing this song at the top of my lungs. When the hurt feelings subsided this week, I turned this song into a prayer, and I ask God to help me figure out what to do with these hurt feelings and conflict with a person I should love. Then finally, I focused on the future, and how one day, as Taylor unknowingly (or maybe knowingly?) proclaims in this song, we will live in a big old city (New Jerusalem) and we will be free from “mean” and all that comes with mean, aka Sin. Most of all, as I process and look forward, I remind myself to display kindness, not meanness, to people. Mean and Jesus are opposites. Partner with Jesus and let’s be kind, gentle and loving—and to get there you might need this song to process your mean feelings.
Prayer
We admit it is hard to love others the way you ask us to. Please by the power of the Spirit help us to be like you. Help us to remember that we have been forgiven much by you and so should we forgive. Lord help us process the hurt feelings we have when someone is mean to us.
Day 5
“State of Grace“
Scripture Reference: Acts 9:1–8, 17–19
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. . . . Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Taylor Swift Lyrics
We are alone with our changing minds. We fall in love ’til it hurts or bleeds, or fades in time. And I never , saw you coming, and I’ll never, be the same.
Devotional Thought
Busy. That’s how I dealt with internal existential stress of not knowing Jesus. As this song says, “Alone with my changing mind,” and I never saw Him coming, and I’ll never be the same. I tried everything except Jesus to deal with the hopelessness, anxiety, and disappointment that plagued me. Crystals, herbs, oils, pilates, yoga, reki, traveling to energy zones. They all let me down.
I had armor up to Jesus. I know now why. There is a spiritual battle going on for souls. But Jesus, at just the right time. He came around and the armor fell, pierced my world. Now, all I know is don’t let go of him.
Beloved Taylor Swift is singing this to a boyfriend. I am under no delusion that I can treat Jesus like my boyfriend. All the lyrics don’t line up perfectly, but I don’t need them to, I’m focused on how I didn’t see him coming! And I am not in bad company because Paul didn’t see him coming either!
Paul was on his way to a new town to kill more people from “The way”—Jesus’s followers. In his mind, he was doing God’s work. Jesus knocked him off his donkey, making him blind, which led to what is good and right and real. Paul’s relationship with Jesus and thereby conversion from murderer to apostle, with a new vision.
I tried to live with the pain of life and my mosaic-broken heart. But he is so good, He knew I needed rescue. I never saw rescue coming. If you are like me and think you can fix the pain of this life alone, you’ll never see him coming either. When he does, the love you find in Him is brave and wild and you’ll never be the same. This is a worthwhile fight.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus thank you for saving me when I was ignoring you. Thank you for being the reason we can live in a state of grace. Thank you that this song lets us celebrate the beauty of not seeing you coming, but never being the same once we meet you.
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