My Most Listened To Song This Week
There are some songs that you stumble across at exactly the right time. Not by accident, but almost like they were placed in your path precisely when you needed them most. That is exactly what happened with me with the song “Joy” by Voices of Fire, the gospel choir featured by Pharrell Williams' I have had this song on repeat all week, and honestly I am not even close to getting tired of it. If anything, every time it plays I feel like I need it more than I did the last time. That is the kind of song Joy is. It does not just entertain you. It reaches into something deep and reminds you of things you already knew but somehow forgot along the way.
Let me be real for a second. This semester has been tough. And I do not mean tough in the way that sounds dramatic or like I am looking for sympathy. I mean tough in the quiet, grinding, exhausting kind of way that does not always show on the outside but weighs on you heavily on the inside. There have been moments this semester where I felt stretched thin, overwhelmed, and honestly just tired. The kind of tired that sleep does not always fix. Anyone who has been through a difficult season of life knows exactly what I am talking about. You keep pushing because you have to, but somewhere along the way you start to lose your peace if you are not careful.
That is where Joy found me. Right in the middle of all of that noise and heaviness, this song showed up and something about it just stopped me in my tracks. The moment the choir opens their mouths and that sound fills the room, something shifts. It is hard to put into words exactly, but it is like the music reaches past everything you are worrying about and speaks directly to your spirit. There is a warmth in it that feels like a reminder. A reminder that even in the hard seasons, joy is still available to you. It does not require everything to be perfect. It does not wait for your circumstances to improve. Joy is a choice, and this song makes you want to choose it.
What I love most about this song is that it carries a message I needed to hear more than I realized. Always smile. Take it one day at a time. God is in control. Those are not just words when you are going through something real. They are anchors. They are the things that keep you grounded when everything around you feels uncertain. Listening to Joy this week reminded me that I do not have to carry everything at once. I do not have to have it all figured out right now. I just have to take the next step and trust that the rest will work itself out.
Pharrell Williams has always had an incredible ability to create music that transcends genre and connects with people on a deeply human level. Voices of Fire takes that gift and elevates it into something spiritual. The choir is phenomenal, the production is rich and full, and the energy of the music is the kind that makes you want to stand up and just let yourself feel it completely. Gospel music has a way of doing that. It does not ask you to pretend everything is fine. It meets you exactly where you are and lifts you anyway.
If you have not listened to Joy by Voices of Fire yet, I genuinely encourage you to find a quiet moment, press play, and just let it wash over you. Whether you are going through something difficult or simply need a reset, this song will give you something. It gave me my smile back this week, and sometimes that is everything.
Take it one day at a time. God is in control. And joy is always within reach.
