Last week a sweet friend asked me to do a favor for her. Her husband died of cancer and she asked me to play the piano and lead the singing for the hymn during his funeral service. I didn’t hesitate to agree, but after agreeing doubts crept in.
Although I play on the worship team, that’s much different than being the sole person on the stage. When I’m by myself, my hands shake and I lose focus. My voice hasn’t been very reliable lately, and it’s been a while since I’ve led any worship.
I thought about asking someone to play and sing with me, but I wanted to honor my friend’s wishes. On this most difficult of days, I wanted her to be comforted by the song as she’d requested it done.
As I practiced, I prayed but my voice didn’t always cooperate. By the day of the service, I was more than a little nervous. I asked people to pray for me. When we did the sound check, my voice forgot to show up and quavered pitifully. Of course, that didn’t help the nerves at all.
I went to the back of the room by the sound booth, and prayed. Prayed hard. I wanted to glorify God. This wasn’t about me, or even about my friend, but about lifting up God for people to see.
“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” Proverbs 16:3 (NKJV)
A few weeks ago, when I read this verse, I remember thinking it applied to my writing and to many areas. But while I waited for that service to start, I realized committing my work of leading this song to the Lord applied right now, as it did in every area of my life.
And it applies to all of us every day.
Everything we do must be committed to God. We shouldn’t be doing a task for our glory or even just for our pleasure. Whatever we do should be for the glory of God.
That is sometimes a hard concept. We tend to say, “But, what about me?” However, I’ve found that when I do even the smallest things for God, I derive great pleasure from that act. Much greater satisfaction than if I did it for myself alone.
Serving God every day in all we do is the best way to live. And He blesses us beyond measure when we put Him first.
When I walked up on the stage and prepared to play and sing that song, God stepped up in a big way. I remember playing the first chords and singing the first note, but don’t remember much more. My voice was there. My fingers played the notes. But it was God getting the glory and ministering to my friend and all the people.
Each day we need to determine to commit our work to God, even if that work seems inconsequential or trivial—something we can handle. Let Him establish our thoughts and our works.
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17 (NKJV)
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