And the Chorus Sang
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
Last Saturday evening, I had the privilege of singing with some of the best voices in the Wellsboro area. What an honor to stand and harmonize with these talented men and women. Our last song was with all three groups and was like being in surround sound. What an experience!
The performance went well…except one group. Because they did not watch the director, there were voices that hung over the cut offs and some strange notes that were not written into the music. For me, it took away my confidence after the first song. I felt uneasy and even with my eyes glued on the director, I was very unsure of myself and co-singers.
It was a life-lesson if ever there was one!
When we take our focus off Jesus, we do not do well on our own. We are apt to come in at the wrong time, come out with wrong words, speak off color, and make foolish mistakes. And that is exactly what we did on Saturday night.
Not being able to fully pull it back together, we ended ok, but not great and we all prefer awesome. Most of us kind of hung our heads and knowing we had not done very well. Through the semi-smile on the conductor’s face, she silently agreed with us.
I liken this to Peter’s walking on water. At first, he had all the confidence needed to step out of the boat onto the rough waves. While he had not practiced for months for this big moment, he had trust in his Savior. All was going great until he looked down at the waves and saw what the wind was doing. Everything changed! He began to sink—both physically and emotionally. He literally cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:31, NIV)
Peter must have had an abundance of emotions! The Bible does not mention that he ever got a second chance at the opportunity to walk on water. However, we are getting a second chance at presenting our music again this morning for a different audience.
Have we learned our lessons from the other night? Time will tell!
Hallelujah, we did learn!
Heavenly Father, thank You for forever being our Teacher and Director. Help us to get our eyes off of the daily hub-bub and look up to You. We give You praise for Your unfailing love. AMEN.