Joyful Noise
I’ve been playing the flute since I was eight years old. I won’t tell you how old I am right now so you can’t do the math. Just know that the flute has been a big part of my life for a long time.
I’m thankful God gave me the patience and ability to learn how to play this instrument. When I got my first flute, I had to spend time practicing just the movement of my lips over the mouthpiece to make a noise. It took hours to master this step. Then learn to read music, scales, and notes. Another language that is specific to the music world.
Several years after I began lessons, I suppose my family could sense it was something I was going to stick with. I still remember opening my new flute for the first time. It was (and still is) so beautiful.
Though I don’t play quite as much now as I did when I was in school, I still enjoy it. Not every sound I make with my flute may sound particularly joyful. I’m sure my family can attest to this. But one thing has been certain, I have kept showing up to make music.
My grandfather made a pretty special gift for me a few years back. He had recorded a lot of songs I had played on my flute over the years on his tape recorder. He had them transferred to a CD together. I’m amazed at the progress. I’m not lying when I told you some of the early years were not joyful. But I’m human, I had to start somewhere! And I’m glad I kept practicing.
Psalm 150, MSG
Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah!
All of us have the means to praise the Lord. We all have a way to make a joyful noise. We don’t all have to play the same instrument or sing the highest note on pitch. Each of us has a special talent that God has given us.
I challenge you to think about some things you feel you are good at. What do you enjoy spending time doing? Working with your hands? Writing? Creativity? Music? If God has blessed you with a unique talent (I’m 99.999% sure He has.), don’t keep it bottled up inside you! There’s a world out there that needs to know it exists.
We don’t have to be perfect humans to make a difference. May we be brave enough to make a joyful noise in our spheres of influence. God can use what we see as ordinary and do big things. Don’t miss an opportunity to praise the Lord today.
