{Be Successful} Glorifying God Through Song

Delight

October 12, 2013

Hello lovely ladies of Delight! I have the pleasure of introducing one of our ‘own’, Rebecca Stricker. Today she shares about her journey in music and how she’s learned how success comes through dedicating her gifts to God. Enjoy! ~Erin

This is a small memoire of my thoughts about music and the truth God has shown me about the melodies that I have sung and listened to. As a young girl, God told me I needed to glorify Him with my whole life, particularly with my gift of being able to sing and play the piano. So grab a comfy seat and let me tell you a little bit about what God has shown me about music in my short life.

From a very young age I remember playing the piano and singing. I can remember as a child making up songs all the time. My earliest memory of singing was at seven year of age when I sang a “Once Upon A December” from the movie Anastasia at the school talent show. At times, I would even sing what I wanted to say to my friends and family instead of saying it with my normal voice. At five years old I would sit down at mother’s piano and pretend I could read the music she had up on the music stand. I did not know what I was doing, but I wanted to be like my mother because she is a pianist and vocalist. I remember being told by my Sunday school teacher at church, “You have a big voice Becca! I could hear you singing all the way over there.” I was told by an older woman, “You should try out for American Idol Rebecca!” Another person told me, “Why don’t you become an opera singer? You sure have the vocal chords for that!”

At the age of thirteen I started singing with the praise band at my church. I was so excited! But my motive for singing in front of the whole church was all wrong. I thought to myself, Now I can really impress everyone with my great voice! Now everyone will know I am the one with the pretty voice. Maybe someone will take notice of me, and I will get to go to Nashville and record some albums. So in my young mind the reason for singing during the worship service was to show the world how great I was. I wanted fame. Little did I know that God wanted to use even me, a prideful little girl, to point others to Himself. I have always sung fairly well and my voice is naturally able to project. At this stage in my life I realize this “big” voice is definitely not something I just happened to be handed at birth, by accident, by mother nature or by chance.

Through my teenage years, I kept singing in the praise band. As I turned into a young woman, my views on what women should do in the church started to change. My views on modesty in dress started to develop. My worldview, which is how I perceive the world matured. My views about my faith in God started to develop and form. I started to realize that I wanted to do something “big” with my singing and piano playing abilities. But I was confused as to what that should be. My attitude of pride concerning my musical abilities still remained. I had no idea how much my pride was blinding me from seeing Jesus my Savior in an even more personal way. I was so focused on impressing others with my “big voice” that I forgot the whole reason God gave us vocal chords in the first place.

In Psalm 66:1-4 the Word of God says, “Shout for joy to God, all the earth, sing the glory of His name, give to him glorious praise! Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!” All the earth worships you, and sings praises to you, they sing praises to your name.” In another Psalm the Word says, “Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!” (Ps 9:11)

The whole reason God gave us voices is to act as built-in instruments to praise Him! We are supposed to proclaim the awesome deeds of our Great God with our voices all the time! All the earth should sing praises to God. If you think about it, when you go outside, what do you hear? Do you hear birds, other animals, the wind in the trees? All of the earth points to God through singing and different melodious tones! It’s seriously amazing. God proclaims His majesty not only through visual things we can see, but also through things we can hear.

God tells us through Paul, “For His invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20) So all of creation proclaims the invisible attributes of God! Not only does God’s creation proclaim His majesty and design through the visual aspects of creation, but also through smells and even sounds.

Therefore, as a young girl my motives for singing were all wrong! My motives for leading God’s people to worship the Creator of the universe, the God who set the world in motion, were all wrong! My motives for singing were for selfish gain, instead of selfless gain. It was not Christ-focused. It was me-focused.

So, I would ask that you use whatever gifts God has given you for His glory … don’t hold onto them for dear life as if they were your prized possession. Ladies, each of you has unique gifts that God has specifically given to you. Now it may take you some time, as it did for me, to develop the right heart attitude about our gifts and talents. Once your heart is focused on God, knowing how to use your gifts will come. Even though, as Christians, the Holy Spirit lives in us, it can still be hard sometimes to hear God speaking to us about how to use our gifts. So, how do we know God’s desires for us? The ways I heard God tell me what to do with my “big” voice was by reading God’s Word, seeking counsel from my parents and other godly men and women in my life, and being involved at my church.

I remember one day while I was doing college from home when I was just so depressed. I was not doing well with my studies and I was discouraged and pretty down cast. I wanted to use my musical abilities for God, but the college classes were not allowing me hardly any time to practice singing or playing the piano. I did not have any time to write music either. I got down on my knees in my backyard and cried out to God, “I can’t do this anymore God! I don’t want to keep trying to do this on my own. I need you to show me how to live. I need you to show me how to move forward.” Now, at that moment, God did not reveal to me an exact formula for how to share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ with others through my musical abilities. But He comforted me in that instant, even with the tears, anger, and pain of feeling discouraged, and He gave me a renewed spirit of hope for the future.

Even now, I am still figuring out how to fully use my musical abilities to glorify my Heavenly Father. I want to point others to Him and Him alone. God has given me a spirit of joy instead of frustration. I know that I am literally His instrument . As a fellow saint once told me, “Rebecca we never arrive at perfection in this life, but we should strive to do all we do well, to give glory to our Father who is perfect.” Therefore, I have been convicted that I should not give up song writing, singing, or playing the piano even when my homework is difficult, my vocal chords are sore, or my wrists hurt. All these small little sufferings are just temporary. For a while, as a young woman I wanted to give up music for good. I was frustrated and angry that God had given me these gifts, and I did not know what to do with them.

It’s ok to be angry ladies, but do not let it dictate your life and lead you to sin.

I will never “arrive” at perfection in regards to my musical abilities in this life. But one thing I do know is that God calls us to do all to the glory of His Name. But we need to not get hung up on doing everything perfect. When we fall and don’t do something well, God extends grace. So many times I have sung, played the piano, or written a song and said to myself, “Rebecca you are doing this for God. Lord help me to glorify you while I sing, play, or write this song.” And then the next minute I hear Satan whisper the lie, “It’s all about you Rebecca. Look how other people admire your abilities, obviously you do not need God, and you should just quit this singing for God thing. Why be here with your family and friends when you could be out there making lots of money or have all the latest fashions and be in the spotlight.” Satan tries to divert our focus off of Christ! Then we might forget about God and the whole point of why we are using our gifts in the first place. God’s word says Satan roams around like a lion looking for prey to devour. Satan knows how to lie to us and deceive us. Ladies, run to God when Satan whispers those lies and deception! Run to His WORD, which is His love letter to His people. God has shown me that music is a spiritual experience. It can either point to God or point to other gods. Just look at Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, or Madonna. What are they pointing to? I believe they are pointing to themselves. As a side note, I am not necessarily saying not to listen to these artists, but we should be listening to things that are pure, honorable, and please our Father.

If you get anything from my story, I want to leave you with this; surrender your whole life to God; even your gifts, whatever they may be. Even if you don’t know what your gifts are, surrender them to God and ask Him to reveal them to you. Surrender your life to God, and He will show you what you are passionate about and good at doing. He showed me and is still showing me.

In closing, I want to leave you with these lyrics,

“Just as I am, without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou hidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot
To thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, tho tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched blind,
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find-
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome pardon, cleanse, relieve,
because Thy promise I believe,
Oh Lamb of God, I come! I come!”