the music in me

music has been a constant in my life.  i sing everywhere...while cooking, grocery shopping (yes, i am that shopper), cleaning.  i sing to my four boys as we are doing things together.  for me, music is a must.  it is an outlet, a stress reliever, an expression.  

in the years of my love for music my interests and musical addictions have a far reaching range.  i started out in elementary school loving amy grant and thus collected many of her tapes (haha--how far we've come since cassette tapes!).  i blared her in my room on my stereo and blasted her tunes on my headphones.  my musical interests evolved over the years, some of which i am not particularly proud of, but nonetheless it is what it is.  during middle and highschool and college i went through different phases...all eighties pop, whitney houston, bon jovie, michael jackson, stryper, michael w. smith, classical, twila paris, a brief rap phase, back to michael jackson, techno, a big country phase, bebe and cece winans, babbie mason, musical tunes, steve curtis chapman, and the list could go on and on. 

for the last few years i have fallen in love with how worship music has evolved and the different bands and artists that have surfaced.  it has been a powerful tool that i've taken advantage of in my walk with Christ.  in my kitchen while cooking and baking i've been listening to a cd entitled "hymns ancient and modern" (put out by passion).  i am not typically drawn to hymns, but this cd has a twist in which each artist featured puts their own spin on an old hymn to make it a bit more modern. 

the song i've been stuck on and mulling over in my mind is "father let me dedicate".  the lyrics are as follows:

Father let me dedicate all this life to Thee
In whatever worldly state Thou would have me be
Not from sorrow, pain or care, freedom dare i claim
This alone shall be my prayer, glorify Thy Name

Can a child presume to choose where or how to live?
Can a Father's love refuse all the best to give?
Let my glad heart, while it sings, Thee in all proclaim
And, whate'er the future brings, glorify Thy Name

Be glorified in me, be glorified
Be glorified in me, be glorified

matt redman was the featured artist for this song and he added the last two lines which tie the song together beautifully. 

i found myself singing this over and over for multiple days and began to ask myself what exactly it means for me.  what does it mean for God to be glorified?  how does that look?  what picture does it paint?  the answer i came to is not an easy one to accept sometimes. 

just as the first verse of the song states, whatever situation i find myself in i ought to glorify the name of Christ.  i have to decide that i will give praise and honor to God whether i am on a mountaintop and things are going well, or if i am in the most deep and dark valley being pummeled with discouragement.  even though it is uncomfortable and unlovely, i cannot claim independence from the grief the world offers.  instead i can bravely enter in the difficult situations with Jesus at my side, ready to weather the storm.  

knowing that God is the source of all goodness, joy, faith, provision, healing, etc. makes it possible to have a 'glad heart', as stated in the song.  when i believe that all i endure, whether positive or negative, is under God's hand and He is in control i can truly glorify His name.



Lord, i pray that i would glorify Your Name in each thought that crosses my mind, in each word uttered, and in each situation i find myself in.  help me be Your reflection.  amen.