Col. 3:17--And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Emphasis mine)
Everybody falls sometimes. The bitterness of our failure fills our souls until our lives seem to be made of ash. Our weaknesses become a stench in our nostrils. Finding peace after the fall, even when we've delivered our stains to the Lord for His amazing cleansing, is not always automatic, but I have found that when the darkness seems to be the deepest, God sends light from unexpected places that revives my heart and mind!
One of these unexpected places that God works from is music. There is a Christian band that is having an incredible impact on my life and God used them this past weekend to bring peace to my stained soul.
The band that has been having this huge impact on me is Kutless. One of their songs, "What Faith Can Do" is rolling even as I write this, tears threaten to stain my cheeks as I listen and hear God's grace in every note sung. It's a powerful song sung with a powerful voice. In fact, I've listened to it several times today. This song moved me to tears the first time I listened to it; it held everything I needed at that moment!
The lead singer of Kutless is, Jon Micah Sumrall. He has been gifted with a powerful voice and a direct line to God's heart when it comes to lyrics. The band leans toward a more rocky sound but ballads such as "What Faith Can Do" slow the pace for a real washing of peace.
But even their more upbeat tunes are tastefully engineered so that the words and God's power are not lost in the instruments. (Though I am of a mindset that instrumentals can and do glorify God, but if the instruments are too loud then you might as well not sing the songs. Kutless's words are worth listening too.)
Here is the link in case you would like to listen to this song.
Click on the song title in the upper right hand corner and listen to the words. Take time to listen to it two or three times and let the words penetrate your heart and mind. Hear what God, through faith, can and will do in your life. Past failures, whether from sin or from taking a chance and failing, will be washed away in the light of God's great love and compassion for you.
There are a lot of wonderful brothers and sisters singing encouragement from God's to our hearts but there are only a small number of these singers who have impacted my life. This is not to knock them but simply to say that God has used these special groups, like Kutless, in a way that encourages me like no others can. I would guess that there are groups that do the same for you and if we compared our lists we would find that they are not the same from beginning to end. There may be some names on our lists that would match but our lists would, in general, be different. That is the wonder of God's diversity and one reason why we have such a wide range of sounds and styles. God has created each of us uniquely and the things that He uses to encourage us are different too.
I am awed to know that God loves me so much that even when I shake my fist at Him and run my own direction He waits for me to return. He doesn't accuse, He just waits for me to agree with Him that I have sinned. This is confession. When I do this our fellowship is restored and His sweetness fills my heart again. If worship is defined as "A heart response to a reveled God" then I am worshiping right now!
Like Jesus from the grave, God raises us up to stand above the ashes and bitterness of our failures and shine with His light, reflecting His glory in all that we do.
Rejoice and be glad that God has called us to live for Him!
No comments:
Post a Comment