Dive Deeper

     One note… a moment… One melody… an entire memory. Each tune takes an entirely different form as the notes rhythmically bound about the instrument. How does it happen? How does one compose something as such? It appears that each note, each moment, has its own sound. It has its own feeling and expression depending on the weight of the moment derived within. Yet the nature of the piece does not stop there. As one collects each moment and starts to view them all together it is possible to see the composition of a melody. The moments transform into a much larger picture and clarity increases as the song is forming. What is it? What is it that you see, that you hear? When you look at the moments of your life, or your day, what song is composed? What is the memory that now belongs to you?

     It can be intimidating to allow ourselves to sit alone and let the melody of our hearts sing out.  Sometimes I find myself not wanting to do this because I am afraid of what I might hear… or afraid I will not like the song being sung. However, turning a blind eye does not stop the music from being played or written. In fact, turning a blind eye only turns it down, it does not turn it off. 

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“45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” - Luke 6:45

     

What things are you storing up in your heart? What song do you hear being sung as you listen to your desires and reflect on the moments of life? We may avoid listening to the music because something bad has happened to us outside  our control, but even though it is more challenging to turn the music all the way up, I have found it to be far more rewarding with the help of Christ. 

     As we invite Him to help us process the melodies of our hearts and ask Him to transform them they do NOT remain the same. They cannot for He is present in the process of writing or rewriting the melodies,songs, even the very notes into something new… something with Him. They are transformed and become something far more beautiful than one could ever imagine. I say this with the utmost confidence as I have witnessed it first hand in my own life. 

     Giving the conductor's wand over to Jesus does not mean you lose the music; rather, you gain the privilege of listening to the most beautiful melody… redemption. This penetrates the heart and starts to rewrite the foundations of your musical knowledge. It transforms old melodies and writes new songs. Each song is just as if not more beautiful than the next as they flow out from the heart.  And each song has remnants of the past but is completely different because He is writing something new in you.  Romans 10:9-13 says

 

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

     We all have this “God-shaped hole” in our hearts that can only be filled by Jesus. As we believe in our hearts, He enters, and we gain unwavering confidence because of the gift of His eternal salvation. A gift that will never be taken away.

 

     Finally,  these songs were written through seasons of joy and flourishing and seasons of great trial and despair. These songs were composed in moments, but the melodies through months of walking with Christ. I asked Jesus to help me through this great season of transition from University to Mission field, and draw me deeper into His arms as I meditated on His Word. These songs are those which I sing as a result. Truly the Chorus of this song sums them all up. As I surrendered my heart to Him and allowed Him to teach me to sing them; He completely transformed the ways of heart, and from it now come songs of joy, Love, and Hope. 

 

​My heart’s song, is for You alone

My heart’s song, is for Him, who sits on the throne

My heart’s song, is everything I have attached to melody

I sing It for You Jesus, and for what You’ve done for me

My heart sings, because of Christ

My heart sings the story of, how You changed my life       

My heart’s song, isn’t perfect, but I offer every chord 

And sing It to You my Jesus, because my heart is yours

 

                                               -Adam Bannister           

 

Questions for Reflection

1. What is the song of your heart? What melodies do you hear yourself singing (thinking) when given time to dwell on them?

   1. If you are troubled by them, I encourage you to seek counsel from a trusted friend, counselor. 

2. Are you making time daily for your relationship with God? If yes, what does this look like? If not, what is keeping you from making this time?

3. Do you make time weekly for dear friends/family and loved ones?

4. Do you have unhealthy patterns in your life that need to be rewritten? What are you storing up in your heart? Would you feel comfortable sharing them with others?