Do you have a favorite song?
Mostly everyone does; if not a specific song, a favorite artist that you always recommend to your friends when they ask, “What do you wanna hear?” in the car. I can’t say that I have a favorite song or artist, but I do have a favorite feeling.
I search for music that sympathizes with my current mood.
One day I might want to get my country on with Thomas Rhett, thug out with Kendrick, and once a week I like to stare out of a window and cry to some heart-wrenching Adele as raindrops slide down the glass and into my soul.
KIDDING!!...maybe?
Anytime I discover or revisit a song, I try to hear something I never have before; whether it’s a new instrument that builds up the chorus, or another harmony intended to add emphasis on a lyric. Regardless of the genre, I want to connect with the music I choose to listen to.
In this generation, music seems to be more about the style. Artists are steering away from thoughtful lyrics, and focusing on the most popular beat to attract a large crowd. Not to say beats aren’t an important part of music; to be able to create a song solely based on instruments and sounds is not an easy task, but when these patterns become repetitive, the substance is lost.
The same can be said when it comes to the specific and beautiful song that God has carefully and meticulously orchestrated for our lives.
God didn’t create you to be a spitting image of someone else. He wrote a personal duet for your relationship with Him, and wants you to listen intently to the instruments and harmonies He has worked into your melody.
But you can’t hear it if you’re listening to someone else’s.
Sometimes, we let other people’s relationship and experiences with God alter our expectations of how our song should sound. For instance, I recently had a conversation with one of my good friends, Emily, telling her about some of the amazing things God has recently done in my life. After expressing how ecstatic she felt for me, Emily admitted that she was a bit discouraged because she felt like her walk with God hadn’t been progressing the same way as mine.
We live in a world of comparison.
Constantly trying to live up to the rapid-changing trends, living in the most popular lifestyle, and believing in the same things. We want to live how everyone else lives to feel in tune with the world.
So what happens when we change the station and start listening to someone else’s song?
Disappointment.
You will never be satisfied trying to live another person’s life because it’s not yours to live. The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:4-5 NLT;
“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.”
Although Emily may have wanted to download my song, I encouraged her to continue listening to her own beat, because God has designed a harmonious tune for her life.
If you don’t seek deeper, you’re only going to hear the chorus.
We can hear a song on repeat as many times as we want, but until we open our ears and notice the various instruments and lyrics that add depth to the tune, we will never feel the meaning behind it. You can’t limit your relationship with God and expect to receive everything He wants to offer you.
James 1:6-8 NLT, encourages us to ask God for the things that we need with our loyalty wholly in Him:
“But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
This means sacrifice.
Once that requirement comes into the mix, most of us press the “pause” button on our song, and take off the headphones. We don’t want to give up the worldly things that please us, because we fear exclusion and rejection from others.
But Psalms 40:2-3 assures that He will be there to catch us during those lonely moments:
“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”
Don’t press the pause button because of fear. Listen to the end; hear the parts He has intricately harmonized in your duet with Him, and feel the promise He is singing into your life.
