This past Sunday, I was asked to play Piano for our Church Service. I politely agreed, and was extremely nervous, that I'd "mess up", and that people would laugh at that, and make fun of my "messing up", I started to turn selfish, and thinking thoughts about what people thought about "me". I started to realize, that it wasn't about me! This was all for God and about God!... or was it?! I was starting to make my Piano playing more about me playing, than about giving God the glory... no matter the outcome!
God was the one who gave me the gift to play Piano. It's up to me, to CHOOSE to give God the glory, and to play in honor and admonition of Him! God knows our hearts! He knows if we say, "To God be the Glory!", but our hearts say, "Yeah, I'm good at ____ " (fill in the blank) So often, we find ourselves in the trap of this world, and we fill our mind with pride. We may start out with fear... but it can easily turn into pride. That's what Satan comes to do... "... to steal, and to kill, and destroy..." (John 10:10)
So, after praying to God to give me a humble mind, and a heart full of Him, I showed up at church, ready to play... even if it meant that I might make a couple mistakes. But... when I asked if the Piano was hooked up yet, I saw a mom of 7 children getting ready to play Piano. To much of my astonishment, I was somewhat bummed... I was bummed that I spent all this last week preparing for worship, only to be early for church to find a mother playing Piano. It turned out there was a mis-communication, and I wasn't going to be playing for the month of June. :) I kind of chuckle at it now... little did I know what God was about to teach me! :)
The service started, and I felt at peace. At peace knowing that I was going to be blessed by the sermon, not having to worry about when to play and what to play. A peace knowing that God knew the whole time I wasn't going to be playing. A peace that passes all understanding!
I got to witness, this mother make some mistakes, and pretend, like nothing happened. I got to witness, that it's okay to mess up. People aren't going to laugh at you! I got to witness, that in the midst of playing Piano, you can still worship God! ...go figure, right?! God knew that I wouldn't be playing Piano yesterday, because I needed to learn a couple things! :) Wow! The things that God puts in our lives to teach us! So, yes, I had fear, and yes, I had pride. However, it's up to us, to repent of those sins, and to give God the glory He deserves! Forever may He be praised! :)
God was the one who gave me the gift to play Piano. It's up to me, to CHOOSE to give God the glory, and to play in honor and admonition of Him! God knows our hearts! He knows if we say, "To God be the Glory!", but our hearts say, "Yeah, I'm good at ____ " (fill in the blank) So often, we find ourselves in the trap of this world, and we fill our mind with pride. We may start out with fear... but it can easily turn into pride. That's what Satan comes to do... "... to steal, and to kill, and destroy..." (John 10:10)
So, after praying to God to give me a humble mind, and a heart full of Him, I showed up at church, ready to play... even if it meant that I might make a couple mistakes. But... when I asked if the Piano was hooked up yet, I saw a mom of 7 children getting ready to play Piano. To much of my astonishment, I was somewhat bummed... I was bummed that I spent all this last week preparing for worship, only to be early for church to find a mother playing Piano. It turned out there was a mis-communication, and I wasn't going to be playing for the month of June. :) I kind of chuckle at it now... little did I know what God was about to teach me! :)
The service started, and I felt at peace. At peace knowing that I was going to be blessed by the sermon, not having to worry about when to play and what to play. A peace knowing that God knew the whole time I wasn't going to be playing. A peace that passes all understanding!
I got to witness, this mother make some mistakes, and pretend, like nothing happened. I got to witness, that it's okay to mess up. People aren't going to laugh at you! I got to witness, that in the midst of playing Piano, you can still worship God! ...go figure, right?! God knew that I wouldn't be playing Piano yesterday, because I needed to learn a couple things! :) Wow! The things that God puts in our lives to teach us! So, yes, I had fear, and yes, I had pride. However, it's up to us, to repent of those sins, and to give God the glory He deserves! Forever may He be praised! :)
Lovely post, Caitlin. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. So often we get caught up in our own pride and selfishness that we really need a firm reminder from God to do whatever we do to HIS glory, not our own.
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
His Princess,
Bekah
Thank you for sharing this, Caitlin! The struggle you shared that you had is a common one for me, too, and for many girls, I imagine. So happy that God is always with us to help us overcome!
ReplyDeleteIn Christ,
Hannah
Thank you for this post. It made me decide. Recently I was asked to play the violin for my Church but I was to embarrassed about if I messed up. Now I know better! Thank you so much and God bless!
ReplyDeleteYour sister in Christ, Susanna
Hi Susanna! That's a really great and neat opportunity! I play the Violin as well, and I know from experience that it can be very stressful to play for someone or something! :) May God bless you! :)
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