“O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”
Psalm 95:1–6
Sometimes we are not aware of how important something is until it is almost lost or even gone. For example, many do not understand just how wonderful and important good health is until they are sick or no longer strong and healthy.
When I was young, I loved music. It was my desire to learn to play many different instruments, so my parents arranged for me to have music lessons. At first, I learned to play the trumpet and the piano. I took lessons for several years, and then I began to have trouble with my eyesight. For a while, I had to give up playing the piano and engaging in other musical pursuits.
While there was great concern that I would go blind, in the end I did not. But I have often wondered if the reason that my musical pursuits were halted was providential. Could it be that I might have wanted to pursue a different life, one filled with the devil’s music? God had other plans for me, and in His mercy, I believe He put a large and potentially permanent obstacle in my path.
I have always tried to follow His leading and as a result I have been a teacher and a pastor for many, many years. Had I continued my musical pursuits all those years ago, it might be that I would not have fulfilled the plans that He had for my life.
Today, I still love music and continue to play the piano. I am filled with praise and thankfulness that God loved me enough to keep me from the wrong path and to lead me in His way. I want to be able to join the saints and angels one day to fill all the realms of heaven with joyous thanksgiving. I hope you want that, too. The great thing is that it doesn’t matter if you can’t play an instrument or even carry a tune here. When Jesus comes, we will all have a song to sing and a voice to sing it.