Why Music

I really believe that being a musician is not for the faint of heart.   Throughout my life I can recall many moments where I thought about walking away....pursuing something else, something easier.  Something with a clear cut path to success, or at least to a clear cut path.   It always seemed so much easier, simpler...But the Lord has always led me back to music in one way or another.    It's no secret that it is hard to make a living in the music industry unless you are a big time artist or a writer for that big time artist.    Even having the right connections doesn't matter as much as it use to.   But for those of us who feel that call....it doesn't matter.   That's the thing about music....it's a calling not a profession.   I have not to date, been able to achieve any kind  of living off of my music, and who knows if I ever will but there are a few things the Lord has been reminding me lately.

The first is that the enemy wants to stop us.

It is thought that Lucifer was a leader of music in heaven before pride led to his fall.    Isaiah 14:11 says "All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; Maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you"  Music is also a very prevalent form of warfare, worship, and ministry in Scripture.  The whole book of Psalms is the written music of David and other musicians of of that day.   Many times in the new testament we are encouraged to sing and worship the Lord with music.  Ephesians 5:19 says "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.    Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord".    It is clear that music is valued highly int he kingdom of heaven.    That the Lord designed it for His glory alone.  The Israelite's sang praises when the Pharaoh and his men were overcome by the red sea and they used music to bring down the walls of Jericho and defeat the city.   It only makes sense then that the enemy would not only want to stop this from happening, but also to turn it away from the Father and keep it from furthering His kingdom.   Lucifer was kicked out of heaven for pride.   He wanted to be higher then God....what is worse for him then for the children of God, praising God with the enemy's very gifting.     I have often wondered if that is why the mainstream culture seems to sustain much more lasting success then in the Christian music industry....The spiritual battles that come with being a Christian musician.    Don't get me wrong...I love Adele as much as the next person, but as a believer I feel a great responsibility to use my gifting to point others to the cross.  We know that the war is not against flesh and blood and have to keep up the fight.  Not get discouraged and keep pushing forward whether it means singing for 1 person in an empty venue, or leading worship for thousands on a Sunday morning....we do not know this side of heaven what is happening during those moments.   We simply must obey the calling.

The second thing the Lord reminded me of today is that the body needs all parts to function.  

I used to think in order to be a musician, it meant I had to be in the big time.   Successful, famous, traveling the world.  Of course I wanted to bring glory to the Lord but it only counted if it looked a certain way and fit the "dream" I had envisioned.   This morning at church I was scheduled to sing on the Chapel worship team.   We have two locations on the campus for people to choose from.  A main sanctuary seating around 2000 and then the chapel seating a max of around 300.   The chapel is an auditorium on the opposite side of the campus from the main sanctuary.   Designed for sports and other activities for kids during the week and then transition into an overflow room on Sunday morning.   It has a separate worship team and then the real-time sermon is telecast on a large screen that hangs from the sealing.  Depending on the Sunday the chapel has anywhere from a few hundred people to as few as 5 or 6 people who come in to worship in the darker, quieter atmosphere.    As you can imagine, on those smaller Sundays, knowing the majority of the church members and pastors are together on the other side of campus, it can be easy to fall into the thinking that "Why am I down here?"  "Is this even beneficial?"  "This just doesn't feel the same".    But I was reminded this morning as I drove to church, that the Church is a body.   It needs all the parts to function.   And I have no idea what God may have done this morning in the lives of the few that chose to sit in the Chapel.   I believe strongly that what He did was not the same as what happened over in the sanctuary nor was it meant to be.  He had a separate agenda and we were the tools He used to carry that out.   We are all given gifts as children of God but we do not determine how He uses us.   I've learned to appreciate the tender and sweet moments the Lord creates in those unassuming places...and if I really want to let Him use me, I can't put parameters on what that looks like.

Lastly, We have a responsibility. 

I think of that passage in scripture, Matthew 25:14-30, where the Lord tells the parable about the man who leaves for a time and gives money to his 3 servants before he goes.   He returns to find that 2 of those men have invested and made a profit.    The 1 who buried the money and returned only the amount given to him, that man's money was taken away and he was thrown out of the safety and protection of the house of his master.  I do not want to be like the man who hid away what my Master has given me out of fear or laziness.    I want to honor Him by being like the faithful servants who took what they had and used it wisely.   

We have a great calling to sing and play for the glory and honor of the King.    Let's use our gifts for His glory and fight the battle...the warfare we were called to fight with bravery and sensitivity to the Spirit.   Let's take back the music that belongs to the Lord and make Him famous.