"LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God."
Psalm 38:15, New International Version

Last Saturday a gentleman at church stopped me in the atrium after the service.  He wanted to let me know that he enjoyed the song I sang, and that it was nice to see me use my talents on the weekend as well as Thursday.  That was a subtle way of telling me that he was part of the Celebrate Recovery group.  He and I talked for the next two hours about a lot of things.  One of the subjects we touched on was waiting on the Lord.  He asked me a lot of questions about music, and what it means to me, and if I ever thought of doing ...  Yes, I have thought of a lot concerning music.  It's hard to describe the connection I can feel with a song, or the way a person sings a song.  I'm watching American Idol tonight ... one of the contestants whom I happen to like came out on the stage and started to sing.  I was choked up ... as in choked up ... by the second note.  Music just does that to me, it always has.

The conversation eventually came around to telling him about my blog.  I told him how it fits well with all those things I used to think about concerning music.  I think they make a great duo, but it doesn't matter what I think.  That's not a self defeating statement ... it's just my way to remind myself, and to share with you, that God is still on the throne ... He is still in control ... and when we get to a point in life where we're not sure what we're supposed to do, our job is to wait.  And wait.  And maybe wait some more.

Let me take a minute to explain waiting by telling you what it's not.  Waiting does not mean you quit your job and sit at home all day, waiting for opportunity to knock on your front door.  Waiting does not mean abandoning things you love doing, giving you more time to wait for God to move.  Waiting does not require you to stop associating with friends and family so you can make waiting your best friend.  God doesn't want you to stop living in order to wait.  In fact, it's my position that we should still do what we can do while we wait.

One of the thoughts I had concerning music was looking for opportunities to visit churches with my testimony and my guitar, sharing my story ... the one that ends with letting people know that God is still in the business of changing the world, one person at a time.  When the thought was conceived, the worst thing I could have done would have been to sit in my living room waiting for churches to call me.  Instead I mailed about 40 cd's of my original music to churches with a cover letter explaining my purpose for contacting them.  I followed up as much as I could.  Nobody was interested.  So I decided to take my voice and guitar to open mic nights around town.  I was a regular at a Christian coffee shop.  I was beginning to have fun so I started a band.  I'd book a gig anywhere I could get us in.  We played pizza parlors and bars ... we played concerts in the park and restaurants ... we played in back yards and on courthouse steps.  Regardless of where we played, we always had a ton of fun.  I auditioned for and was asked to be part of my church worship team.  A few months ago I started leading worship for 100 people at a recovery group.

Are you getting the point?  Look at what I would have missed out on if I would have waited, as in the "do nothing waiting" while God sends me a raft, a boat, and helicopter to save me from the flood waters called missing out on life.  I've been judged by many for singing in bars.  Let me say that playing in bars and clubs and parks has been the best on the job training a musician could ever ask for.  My confidence in performing went from 0 to 10 in just a few months.  Some of my best friends told me I wasn't good enough to "play out."  I told myself I wasn't good enough to play with the worship team at church.  Thank God I didn't believe any of us!

There are definitely times in life where we need to sit quietly before the Lord, and wait for His leading.  There are times when we need to give some things up in order quiet our lives enough so we can hear His voice.  It's important to know the difference between giving up a habit and giving up our lives.  God wants us to share our gifts with the world.  In the process of doing that we're bound to make a few mistakes now and then.  That's okay ... He's already forgiven us.  Don't let a mistake stop you from sharing your gift, or send you spiraling into a false sense of guilt, and a misguided sense of waiting on God.  The gentleman I spoke with that night put it this way ... "we need to learn to wait while doing."  I couldn't have said it better if I tried.

The song below is a wonderful song about waiting on God.  I hope you enjoy it.  God bless you, and good night.