The Healing Listening Room

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Resilience: One Song at a Time, a weekly segment in Workplace Digest dedicated to the healing, uplifting, and transforming power of music. Each week, we’ll spotlight a single song not just for its melody but for its message. We’ll also explore what science tells us about music's ability to strengthen our emotional, mental, and even spiritual well-being at work and beyond.

Featured Song: “God Will Work It Out” –  by Naomi Raine & Maverick City Music    🎧 Listen via the Resilience Playlist on YouTube Music 

The lyrics of God Will Work It Out are a gentle reassurance to any soul carrying uncertainty. "Be still, my soul, be still and wait..." this line alone calls us into emotional regulation, patience, and faith. In trauma-informed leadership, we call this co-regulation when we intentionally ground ourselves in peace before engaging the challenges in front of us. When played intentionally, this song can act as a musical anchor, helping you reset between stressful meetings, close out a draining workday, or refocus after conflict. In spiritual terms, it's worship. In psychological terms, it's resilience in practice. Music isn’t just entertainment, it’s neuroscience in motion. Research consistently shows that music:

• Reduces cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone (Thoma et al., 2013). 
• Elevates dopamine and oxytocin, which help regulate mood, enhance bonding, and restore emotional balance (Salimpoor et al., 2011).
• Improves cognitive flexibility and problem-solving, essential skills when navigating challenges at work (Zatorre, 2005).
• Boosts morale and productivity, especially when employees engage with uplifting or rhythmically consistent tracks during breaks or deep work (Lesiuk, 2005).
   

According to a study from the Journal of Music Therapy, individuals who engaged with music during stressful seasons were more likely to report higher emotional insight, stronger coping mechanisms, and a deeper sense of meaning and connection in life. In other words: music isn’t just emotional, it’s strategic.

Weekly Reslience Prompt

• Reflect: What situation in your life or work are you trusting God to work out?
• Journal: What emotions come up as you listen to this week’s song? Where do you feel resistance and where do you feel release?
• Apply: Can you set aside 3–5 minutes mid-week to replay this song and reset your emotional atmosphere?

Music Fun Fact of the week
Did you know that listening to slow, meditative music especially music rooted in spiritual or cultural tradition can cause the body’s parasympathetic nervous system to activate? This system is responsible for rest, digestion, healing, and recovery. So that moment when you exhale deeply during a favorite verse? That’s your body healing in real-time.

A Final Word

Let “God Will Work It Out” be your song of stillness and strength this week.