Message of Encouragement Monday (MOEM #024)
If you look at the very best violinist in the world – I always enjoyed listening to a Japanese violinist named Taro Hakase – when you listen to him, he has so much freedom to play that instrument and make beautiful sounds. It’s like he is one with the instrument. He has command over the violin; he has authority to put it to work for his benefit and, even more importantly, for the great benefit of those listening.
But, how did Taro get to that point? Did he just wake up one day and start playing masterfully? No. Taro had to put in countless hours honing his craft. In fact, we could even say that he had to become a slave to his violin. He had to submit the discipline. When he was younger, he likely had to pass up many outings with his friends, and maybe even had to pass on relationships or other fun things he may have wanted to do. He had to give himself up and empty himself of his own desires, over and over again, to sit there and become one with that violin of his.
As the months and the years rolled by, surely that discipline began to pay off. He probably began to do things on the violin that he previously thought were impossible. And as he continued to give himself over to the violin, that bondage or that slavery, slowly started turning into great freedom! What once felt confining or restrictive, like staying inside on a beautiful day and practicing for the ten-thousandth time, eventually turned into Taro being able to run freely like a little kid through big, open, expansive fields; and being able to do things that 99.9% of people cannot do with a violin in their hands.
And so it is in our relationship with God. We have been given a gift to be able to communicate with and learn from God 24 hours a day. He does not sleep and He does not slumber (Psalm 121:4). He is available to us at all times. We go before Him and give ourselves and our time to Him and we allow Him to grow us, mature us, and develop us in the ways of God. Eternity is what He has promised to those who love Him, but it is now – in this life – that He grows us and teaches us how to stop being slaves to our old lives. He gives us knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, and shows us how to start playing different kinds of music that we never imagined we could play. And before we know it, we start finding ourselves with the ability and the freedom to play the songs that we were destined to play in this life. (Gal 4:7, John 15:15)
Don’t forget God today!
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