CONFIDENCE

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)

With Easter approaching, our choir was doubling down on rehearsals and more complex musical offerings. Sadly, our choirmaster had’nt yet discovered the joy of music, so rehearsals were often exercises in discipline. One particular evening, he scolded the sopranos particularly severely and shuffled our section around several times. Over and over we rehearsed our passages as he frowned upon us. I could hardly wait for the session to end.

I went home that evening convinced that I was the sour note, unable to contribute to a harmonious whole. The next few days I sat at my piano going over and over the offending phrases. Rather than feeling increasingly confident in my part and eager to sing God’s praises at Easter, my mood was more in line with the confused disciples who hid in the shadows on that fateful Friday.

And then I read that there are times when we take our confidence and throw it to the wind if our expectations aren’t met. We actually take the confidence we’ve gained through years of experience with our Father and toss it from us because of adversity, real or imagined, large or small. And here was I allowing some unsatisfactory choir rehearsals to color the rest of the days in my weeks.

I retrieved the confidence I had – which was in the Lord – and returned to rehearsals determined to hear the messages in the music and to use my voice, imperfect as it might be, as an instrument of praise. It appeared that my heart was more out of tune than my voice, and when that was corrected, I was more prepared (and equipped) to sing .

Easter Day was glorious; the choir’s melodious praises filled the sanctuary. And I learned a valuable lesson that had more to do with attitude than music.

Father, every time I make an incident about me, I become distracted. My confidence, my hope, my inspiration are all from you. Thank you. AMEN.