Under the Juniper Tree

Under the Juniper Tree  

I Kings 19:5-7, “As he lay and slept under the juniper, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.  And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruise of water at his head.  And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.  And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.”  

            You may be in a situation that is somewhat analogous to the one recorded here in I Kings.  You may be depressed and feel that Jezebel and Ahab are after you again!  Perhaps you are simply exhausted physically and emotionally.  You may be so depressed—musicians get that way at times—that you do not know how to get up and get going again.

            How did Elijah get out of the pit of despair?    He did four things. He listened to the angel of the LORD, he slept, he ate and he drank lots of water.  Now those things seem too simple to work don’t they?   Elijah had just gone through a very strenuous time, so he went a day’s journey away from the source of his anxiety where he could really rest.

            Think of it, an angel of the LORD came to minister to him.  All the angel did was peck Elijah on the shoulder gently after he had taken a good nap, and tell him to eat and drink.  The angel did not give him any other advice or do anything dramatic.  God loved his servant enough to send an angel to give Elijah some simple advice that Elijah would have figured out on his own if he had not been so exhausted and depressed.

             Chief musician, perhaps the reason you are in trouble emotionally is because you need to get away from where you minister (about a day’s journey) and sleep, eat, and drink water (not diet pop).  Now does this advice seem too difficult to manage? 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Prayer, Song, and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day—Harps on Willow    

Lord I am asking you to give special help to that Christian musician who feels “used up” and is burnt out.  Help that musician to take immediate advantage of musical praise which is a means of grace to that troubled Christian.  Help that musician to “sing one of the songs of Zion” as an act of praise and adoration to You—even if he or she does not feel like praising Your wonderful name.  Let this act of musical worship be a sincere “sacrifice of praise’ unto You.  Lord, I am humbly asking You to replace that musician’s sadness, melancholy, and self pity with the simple joy that comes when a Christian musician sings and plays one of Your songs.  These things I am praying in your name.  Amen. 

 Song for the Day—Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee by Henry van Dyke  

Thought for the Day—The next time you are depressed think about the fact that you have been chosen to praise God with music, and that sometimes people even pay you to do it!