What is it about that harp?

I (Amber) am making a confession. Sometimes when I'm troubled, weary, mentally drained, emotionally exhausted, worn out or just plain old tired my Bible inst the first thing I reach for. HYPOCRISY! APOSTASY! BLASPHEMY! is what I know you're saying to yourself. But before you shout me down (as the old timers would say) keep reading. Sometimes reading the words on the page doesn't change the mood. Sometimes spiritual counsel from a trusted source doesn't help lift the funk. Sometimes praying fervently doesn't help change my mental atmosphere. I'm not saying all the time, but sometimes. And sometimes the only thing that breaks the weight off for me is to open my mouth or open up my iTunes and sing, hum, or lip sync a song of praise, worship, or love to my King. I take a page from Saul and David.


But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well , and bring him to me. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
1 Samuel 16:14-17, 23, KJV.

Let me attempt to summarize what has happened prior to the event in the text above. King Saul was told to go and destroy the Amalekites including King Agag, the people and the property. Saul took his army and destroyed the people however he spared king Agag and kept the best of the livestock for himself. This was in direct violation of the Lord's directive to destroy all the Amalkite kingdom. Read 1 Samuel 15:11,28-29. God has chosen to replace Saul as king, and remove His spirit from Saul, and allowed an evil spirit to torment him in turn. And Saul's only solace from this torment was David's harp playing. 

So what is it about that harp that soothed King Saul? Was it that David was the most excellent harp player in all the earth? Doubtful. Was is that the harp is the instrument of heaven? Nope. Was it that David's harp was fashioned by God from the foundation of the earth with the Lord's own hair for strings? I'm being facetious now. But the answer is no. So we must assume that it is what David played on the harp that soothed the king and annoyed the evil spirit. I would venture that David was playing the music of his heart, music of love, praise and worship to his heavenly Father. 

Now the text doesn't tell us that David sang a word. Just that he played the harp, and the evil spirit left the atmosphere. What does that mean to us? I would propose that we don't have to utter a word in times of torment or tribulation. Sometimes we are out of words, don't know what to say or there is nothing more we can say. In times like these I do what I said above and take a lesson from King Saul and David. I put on my worship music, usher in the presence of Peace, and bask in the love and tender mercy of the Father. I'm free to cry, shout, laugh, and rest in the atmosphere that is created. I too am refreshed and made well in this atmosphere. And I encourage you try it when you're going through that internal turmoil that we all experience at one time or another. Get quiet in His presence, let the notes of the "harp" do the talking and let your spirit connect with His. Sometimes that's all the communication that is needed.  

If you have a prayer request, praise report, of question we can try to answer, send us a message on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/striketherock1.

Be abundantly blessed and soothed. 

If I die young...

I (Amber) have a song stuck in my head. You know how that goes. You hear something at the grocery store, or the dentist office. I mean, you're pretty much a captive audience in that situation. Oh the subliminal advertising... The song is "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. The hook is " If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song". The songstress seems to be unconcerned about her souls' destination. As if she already has peace about where she'll be. This hook made me think, am I really ready to die, young or old. If my time was right now, am I really really ready? Or, more importantly, if someone I know is called from this life, have I done all I can to get them ready, young or old?

I am reminded of Roman 8:38-39: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" KJV. Now, I'm saved, blood bought, forgiven, and set free. Praise the Lord! But everyone I know is not. And probably everyone in your circle isn't either. Part of the reason I joined Strike The Rock is to use my gift of music to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Some people would rather have a root canal then sit through a Sunday service. But these same people will listen to the radio or go to a concert. And that's where our God can grab them, captivate and woo them, and the Holy Spirit can work on their hearts and their spirits. And that's what we, Strike the Rock, are here to do. To serve in this way and set the atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move. We don't get anyone save, delivered or set free. We just set the atmosphere for the Lord to move.

Now, I know that life or death, angels or principalities, or powers or current events or future ones, nor position, or low points in life, or possessions will ever be able to separate me from the love (and saving power) of Jesus. Can you say the same? Can you say that you did all you could do to connect others with His love? This post isn't meant to condemn, but to encourage. To encourage us to do more and use the gifts we have been given, whether it's the creative arts, technical savvy, or administration. To use all we've been blessed with to spread the love of Christ and keep others from being separated.The Lord will equip us to do His work- Hebrews 13:21

If you have a prayer request, praise report, of question we can try to answer, send us a message on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/striketherock1.

Be blessed.