Tuning Up by Michele Lear

Scripture:
On that day you will realize that I am in My Father and you are in Me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves Me. And whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him. (John. 14:20-21)

A friend of mine has a piece of wall art in his office that I really like. It is a shadow box with a picture of a music manuscript in the background. A phrase is etched in black on the glass that says: “I will make the Lord my music. I will make His love the key that tunes my heart and gives my life its harmony.” As a singer, I know the importance of tuning. It doesn’t matter how beautiful a piece of music is on paper, or how moving the text is; if it’s not sung in tune, the music loses a lot of its power. The harmonies just don’t ring the way they do when everything is in the center of the tone. Listeners tune out!

Singing in tune doesn’t just happen. It takes years and a lot of effort to learn to produce a sound that is in tune with the other music around you. Some voices don’t easily blend to those around them. Learning to sing in tune involves things like minding your posture, breath support, relaxing and opening the throat. It means knowing your own body and what it needs to do to produce a good sound.

Our spiritual walk is a lot like that. With effort and diligence, we must learn the inner workings of our spirits and train ourselves through prayer, fasting, good works, etc., so that we can be attuned to and “walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8) by living according to His commandments. On occasion, we encounter people who have difficulty “harmonizing” with everyone else. In such cases, we must act in charity to try to bring such folks along, to help them “tune” to the music of the Spirit.

Getting a choir to make beautiful sounds is the ultimately the job of the conductor. He is the one who knows the individual voices and has the skills to draw the best from them. But the singers must respond to his cues, commands and instructions. The occasional dissonance can be remedied, but if someone is singing in a completely different key, it’s just not going to blend no matter what you do. So let us respond to the Spirit’s leading. Let us tune our lives to the “Key of C” – Christ - so that He may make of us a chorus of praise that rises like sweet incense before the Father’s throne.

Prayer Request:
For those discouraged by the dissonance in their lives.

Prayer:
Almighty Father, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. Help us to stay in tune with the wonderful plan You have for each of us. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.