By Hannah Brzozowski
I've been a Taylor Swift fan since I first listened to her debut album at my best friend's house when I was 14. We'd belt out Tim McGraw and Teardrops on my Guitar over and over again.
If you were to look at my Spotify top songs for the year, you'd see that not much has changed. I basically only listen to Taylor's music (we're on a first-name basis - at least on my end).
One thing to know about Swifties (Taylor's fanbase) is that we are constantly looking for Easter eggs in literally everything. There are wild theories after every single video and Instagram caption or Tweet.
I've done many a deep dive into what the different emojis could mean, what her outfits might be hinting at, or Taylor's lucky number 13 shows up on cakes (or 26 for that matter).
With her upcoming album, Midnights, coming out tomorrow, these theories are ramping up like never before. If you're curious, just look up @Swifttokdetective on TikTok and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.
This morning, I randomly looked up the word "midnight" in the Bible and I saw that there were 13 occurrences. I *actually* gasped. Could Taylor have dropped some Easter eggs in the Bible?! Is God a Taylor Swift fan - planning out for this moment in history when this album would come out?! (Now, you're starting to understand just how wild some of the theories get.)
I'm kidding, of course, but I do believe that we can learn things from culture and see what God might be teaching us through songs or movies. So, hey, let's see what we can learn from 13 midnights in the Bible.
Just as a bonus, I've included Taylor Swift songs for each point. FYI, some are most definitely a stretch.
1. Don't go after everyone you fall for.
Judges 16:3
But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.
Right before this verse, it talks about how Samson, a leader of God's people, took a prostitute into his tent. This obviously wasn't in God's plan for his life. Right after this passage, Samson falls for Delilah, a woman from the foreign army. This did not end well for Samson and ultimately, she betrayed him and he ended up dying. Goes to show that sometimes your heart can't be trusted, you need to use your head too.
I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor's Version)
2. Sometimes, you have to do something bold.
Ruth 3:8
Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet!
Speaking of love, in the book of Ruth, we see a foreign widow who is very poor. She catches the eye of a wealthy man (who was a relative of her late husband) and decides to do something bold. She goes to his bedside at midnight and requests his help. He decides to take her as his wife and ultimately, she is in the line of Jesus.
Doing something bold can be frightening but necessary to get what you need.
3. This life is fleeting.
Job 34:20
“In a moment they die, and at midnight
People are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without a hand.
Everyone dies. It's a sad and unfortunate truth. It happens in a moment and we don't always know when it's coming. You live life differently when you appreciate this truth and treasure the time that you have each day.
4. Ask God for what you need.
Luke 11:5
Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;
Think about the last time you couldn't sleep.
Did you pray and ask God to help you? Or did you go on your phone and try to drown out the anxious thoughts? Can I be honest? I'm typically doing the second one...
But in the book of Luke, we see that God encourages us to ask for what we need. He even encourages us to be persistent like a friend in the middle of the night asking for food.
5. God gives you wisdom.
1 Kings 3:20
So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast.
Have you ever heard the phrase: "splitting the baby"? It comes from this chapter in the Bible. King Solomon had just asked God for wisdom to help him as he rules God's people. Later on, two women come and ask him to make a ruling. Both were claiming that a baby was their own. One said that the other had stolen her baby in the middle of the night. Solomon said, "let's cut the baby in half and give half to each woman." Gruesome, right? Well, the real mother said absolutely not, the other woman can have my baby if that saves my son! It showed Solomon who the real mother was.