Off-Key and Out of Practice

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Turn That Mic Down Please

Last week at a Leadership Conference, I sat across from a prophetic team of three people who were honing their skills in the prophetic. Two were currently enrolled in a school of supernatural ministry – one a young woman in her early twenties and one an older man in his late sixties. The third person was a youth attending a Christian Junior High. I was the willing subject.

I’d chosen this trio from those available because of the older fellow. Looking at the backside of (ahem) fifty, I am more appreciative of age than I have been in the past and I wanted to give them the gift of choosing them.

They were pleasant enough with familiar words of affirmation and even some real insightful revelation. Then Miss Twenty-Something decided to step out and take a risk by prophesying about my two sons. Most of it missed the mark but then she started hitting on point about my youngest son. I perked up. I was listening intently as she moved on to me, telling me that I needed to sing because when I sing, mountains move and heaven opens. She went on to say that God wants me to write songs and somehow those songs will become books. She didn’t understand how that would happen but felt God was really highlighting that.

Sing, Sing, Sing

If you’ve known me for a really long time, you know I used to sing all the time. Road trips with Bert meant I would run through my repertoire of Beatles/Supremes/Beach Boys/Show Tunes with a little Aretha thrown in. I was able to keep him entertained for hours and thankfully I had a pretty good voice. When we became Christians, Bert and I both joined the choir at the Methodist Church and later, when we were pastors of our own church, I sang with our praise team. I finally stepped down to make room for others to participate. I’m not sure when I stopped spontaneously singing but somehow I began to sing less and less. Lately, I find I only sing on Sunday mornings.

In response to the prophetic word I’d received, I decided to sing with our worship team this past Sunday. You can imagine how surprised I was to find myself straining to hit notes that once came easily, to realize that off-key voice was mine, and to recognize that the stress on my vocal chords was causing me to lose my voice. I’d like to pretend that I was just caught up in the spirit but the truth is that there was very little spirit in the sounds emitting from my mouth.

Flabby Muscles Aren’t Pretty

I was out of practice. What I thought I was able to do easily had become hard. The Lord began to show me how we often take things for granted instead of investing ourselves in growth. This applies to so much! Have a good marriage? It won’t stay that way if you’re not intentional about interacting with your spouse. Good relationship with your eight year old? It won’t be when they’re fifteen unless you’ve stayed engaged. Who wants a surgeon that hasn’t kept up with the latest techniques? Just having something is not enough. There must be an involved, intentional investment of oneself. Kind of like “practice makes perfect” but more complex.

I think this is what Paul must have been referring to when he wrote “work out your salvation.” Paul wasn’t exhorting us to “perform” for our salvation. He was encouraging us to engage in the exploration of that salvation. Of course by salvation, I mean the restoration to relationship with the Father. To fully apprehend what is meant by “our salvation” requires more than a prayer of repentance. It requires faithful, deliberate, active and on-going connection with God. Just like a good marriage there should be some interaction. As Bob Dylan said, “You’re either growin’ or you’re dyin’.”

The Good News

I’m not singing with the praise team again very soon (I like my worship leader too much for that). Instead I’ve considered how to grow in my singing and decided to make some changes. I am playing more songs on my google home mini so I can sing along with them. I’m also playing them on my radio in the car. If singing will move mountains for me, I am willing to invest myself in working those muscles. The good news is the prophetic word I received never mentioned microphones or stages, just singing, so I will be moving mountains with every note. Of course, this means a little sacrifice for me – less TV time. Not such a bad thing, right?

I will also be considering how to “work out” my salvation in greater measure. That’s the last thing I want to take for granted!

Today, I’m praying for Sri Lanka and the people who have been physically and emotionally wounded by the recent violence there.

What are you praying for? Please leave me a comment to share your thoughts and be sure to subscribe so you can get a notice of new articles. Thanks friend for reading!