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Sing Me A Song
If you really want to get my attention, sing me a song, play me a tune, hum me a melody or ask me something to do with music. I live a life of songs, melodies, lyrics, ideas running through my mind constantly. Music is my life.
When God speaks to me, most of the time it’s through music. Whether it’s a song I hear on the radio or a song He gives me to write, I’ve always found that in my darkest times, in my hardest times, in my trying times, God gives me a song that helps me get through it.
This weekend I went and saw the movie “Ray”. What an extraordinary and inspiring life Ray Charles lived. Despite being blind, he accomplished so much, but at one point in his life, he almost lost it all. He got addicted to heroin and this almost ended his career. His wife said something in the movie that hit me. It was after Ray Charles got busted by “the man” and he was about to go to trial. She said something to the tune of, “There’s one thing you’ve always loved more than anything else Ray Charles Robinson, even more than me, more than your kids, more than those drugs you’re doing, and you’re going to let them take it away from you.” She was talking about his music.
Everyone knows that I love music. Like Ray though, there was a time in my life when I almost let it all slip away. It hurt me so deeply to be away from God. All I am and all I’ve ever been is one that longs to worship my Savior. I almost threw it all away, for what, a few moments of worldly gratification?
God always has a way of bringing us back to Him though. How can you taste of His presence and know Him so intimately and then turn your back and run from Him? I never thought that I would be the one to turn from Him. We try to fill that void in our lives with everything this world has to offer, but there’s only one thing that can truly satisfy our longing soul, and that’s the love from the Father.
I was listening to an old Jennifer Knapp song called “Whole Again” the other night. It’s one of those songs that ministered to me during that time when I was running from God.
“Daddy, daddy do you miss me, the way I crawled upon your knee.
Those childish games of hide and seek seem a million miles away.
Am I lost in some illusion? Am I what you thought I’d be?
Now it seems I find myself in need to be forgiven? Is there still room upon that knee?
If I give my life, if I lay it down, can you turn this life around?
Can I be made clean by this offering of my soul? Can I be made whole again?”
It’s not just “the music” though. It’s what’s behind the music (like VH1). Like the old song says, “When all things that surround become shadows in the light of You…” That’s where it’s at. My music is all in vain if God isn’t the focus behind it. God has to remind me of that sometimes. You can get so caught up in something that you forget why you’re doing it in the first place.
Friday night at church, I was playing guitar for worship and one of my strings broke. I didn’t have a replacement so I didn’t go back up to play for the altar call. I was disappointed. I love playing, but sometimes God does that to me. I could’ve been mad and just sat back in the sound booth with my brother during the altar call, but I’ve learned that when things like that happen, God has something else in mind.
I don’t get to make many altar calls. I play on the worship team so my time at church is spent playing guitar during the altar call. I’ve accepted that because God has called me to be a worshiper, but sometimes I need someone to pray for me too. I need that alone time with God where I can just seek His face. So when opportunities come along where I have a chance to make an altar call, I take full advantage of them. I found myself weeping at the altar and God met me there and gave me that touch that I needed.
Worship has always been my heart. I was thinking about when I first started leading worship for my youth group back in Raton. It was just me and my guitar and a couple of girls singing background vocals that I was working with. I was trying to get them to understand what true worship is all about. I tried to instill in their hearts that worship wasn’t just something we did at youth service or church service. It’s not just songs we sing, but it’s a lifestyle that we choose to live.
I made a comment to one of them that I always walked around with a song in my head. One thing I loved about working with the youth was that they know if you’re real or fake. You can’t hide anything from them. They keep you in check. After that, every time I would see her, she would ask me, “What song are you thinking of?”
That’s one way I would keep focused, by always having a song close to my heart. When I first started playing guitar, I was so happy to finally put music to my lyrics. I only knew a few chords at the time, but I was now able to pour out my heart through song. One of the first songs I wrote was called “just one song”. At the time I wanted to write a million songs to express my love to God (I’m about .01% of the way there). Here’s what came out.
“just one song
in my heart, i have prepared
a million songs for You, my Lord
in my heart, I have prepared
a million songs for You, for You
and this may be just one song
that i bring to You
but with all that i have
i give it Lord to You
i give it Lord to You
an offering to You
an offering to You”
I want to get back to that point in my life where everywhere I go I’m singing a song, but not just any song. I want my music to be an offering to my Lord, a sweet fragrance to His nostrils, a beautiful sound to His ears. In every song I write or sing I pray that I continue to “Put Him First”, for without Him, music is just an emotion that fades away with time.
Psalm 34:1-3 “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.”
So next time you see me, ask me what song I got going on in my head. God Bless each and every one of you, and I’ll see you again next week.
w/muchluv,
geno
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