Thoughts from a Musicians Heart

A PERSONAL SANCTUARY

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 says the following:

1-“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2-a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3-a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

4-a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

The Lord brought these verses to mind as I was pondering on the theme for this post. We have

been living through a time of weeping and mourning (loss of loved ones from the virus). He

makes us experience all the good and the bad this world has to offer. As the hands and the

feet of Jesus, he wants us to be sensitive to the human suffering around us and show

compassion to a lost world in need of a savior. However, as Christians we should never lose

our heavenly perspective as the ones seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). While we

are in the world, we are not of the world.

We have all learned to appreciate life and our most precious possessions like family and

friends. The spiritual reality is that this is a fight between good and evil as represented by the

spirit of Christ through his church and the spirit of antichrist represented by Satan and anyone

who does not believe in Jesus. The enemy of our souls has unleashed indescribable suffering

on our world. We have all lost loved ones in this battle, not to mention loss of jobs, incomes

and more.

My ability to be on stage and make a living through music has been hindered except for a few

gigs here and there. There were moments when I seriously considered doing something else

with my life. But God has been faithful and has provided for all my needs. He has called me to

focus on ministering to him during this difficult time. For the past several months, I have felt he

was calling me to build a sanctuary for his presence. I know that his presence dwells inside of

me through his holy spirit, but this request had more to do with building a place for his

presence and ministering to him through my violin, just like David did when he ministered

before the Lord through his harp.

At the beginning of last year I felt the Lord wanted me to read through the entire Bible so I

picked a plan in my Bible app and started reading. During the lockdown, the Lord kept

encouraging me to make more room for him in my life and helped me to stay faithful to him. I

have enjoyed some sweet moments of fellowship with him during this time. I am still trying to

understand how to practically build a sanctuary for his presence in my life, but I am growing in

my faith and love for him through the reading of his word and through worshipping him.

The enemy wants us to focus on our daily circumstances and forget to rely on the Lord. It is

easy to focus on the hardships and the challenges we have dealt with this past year, but the

Lord allows hardships as opportunities for growth in our lives. It is these trials and tribulations

that will stretch our faith muscle. The Bible says that the righteous shall live by faith! And

according to Romans 8:28 “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who

love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose”.

Amen