With so many tragic things happening in the world right now, it’s difficult to even come up with the right words to address how I’m feeling. But I will do my best.
I’ve been learning to play the piano. Last week, I decided that I really wanted to know how to play the piano by the time I left for the World Race. I already have a good understanding of scales and can read music, so that was helpful, but getting both of my hands to do two different things at the same time takes practice. Can I just tell you how happy I was when I finally played “Ode to Joy” with chords? To an advanced pianist, this is obviously an incredibly easy task. But for me, I felt so much joy at accomplishing that small step because I had started out not even knowing where the middle c was. This is where everyone starts when they learn piano, right? The middle c. All of the beginning songs are in range of this note.
Why the middle c? It’s the easiest to find. It’s right, smack dab in the middle of the piano. It’s the safe zone. Where I’m most comfortable playing now, as I’m advancing into different keys of music and different octaves. These new pieces of music take me hours to learn, but it’s the only way I’m going to get any better at playing the piano. How nice it would be to just be able to continue to play the songs I already know, to play those songs in the middle c range. The safe zone.
And the whole piano thing got me thinking…
Isn’t this how I live my life? How I live out my faith? In the safe zone? So I asked myself… safe from what?
Growing up my sister and I were always fearful of axe murderers breaking into our house (thanks for all the Law and Order: SVU marathons, Dad). In fact we still might be scared of axe murderers, (a friend of mine finally convinced me to give up the crime shows) but that’s beside the point. She might not even know this, but I have a vivid memory of us crouched on the stairs, babysitting our brothers who were upstairs sleeping. We had heard a noise, and were debating whether to go up to check. Which of course we had to. My probably twelve year old sister pushed me behind her and said, “I’ll go first.” For some reason to me, I’ve always remembered this. My sister and I fought a lot as most do, but she was willing to go first up those stairs to what she must have thought was the worst fate imaginable. Yes, my sister showed me that she was willing to sacrifice herself for me. It seems silly because there was obviously nobody upstairs, but that one act on her part still sticks with me. And even though in that moment I was still scared, I felt safe, because my big sister loved me. And she was with me. We were in it together.
Isn’t this how our walk with the Lord goes? We prepare to walk behind in His footsteps, as He takes the hardship and fear that comes with walking up those stairs?
In the story of Jonah and the fish, Jonah runs from God. The Lord wants him to bring news to the city of Nineveh that the Lord is planning to destroy them, but Jonah doesn’t want to do it. He was too scared. So he gets on a boat, and tries to run from the Lord. He’s going where he thinks he will be safe. Safe from what the Lord would will him to do. Instead, he ends up jumping from a boat and almost drowning. Thankfully, the Lord has Jonah swallowed by a fish. And this is what Jonah says:
“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’
The waters closed in over me to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.
When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.”
-Jonah 2:2-7
It’s pretty easy to imagine what Jonah would have missed out on had the Lord not intervened. Thankfully, we aren’t capable of ruining any plan God has for us as long as we have committed ourselves to Him. God was so aware of Jonah’s walk with Him, and knew it was time for Him to be challenged and grow in His faith. I read this and think, “Well I’m never going to be as faithful as all that. Jonah was swallowed by a fish and still managed to get to Nineveh. What can I possibly do that compares?”
But in all truth, the Lord is pleased when we grow in ways that are specific to our walk with Him. We are all at different levels in our “piano playing.” Jonah was obviously quite the pianist, but did he not start out playing an elementary version of “Ode to Joy?” We must have faith that we can serve and grow everyday by taking the steps the Lord is leading us to take. And be willing to take those steps on our own journey, and not compare it to others.
And so I’m challenging myself and those reading this to think… what are we afraid of? Other religions? Other people that are separated from God as we all once were? Or what about hell and death? The story about my sister makes me realize that Jesus went up those stairs first. He’s already been to the top, and He’s defeated death at the top. All we have to do is follow. What is there to be afraid of when we already have the assurance of everlasting life through Jesus Christ? The promise of His sacrifice?
The Lord is our safe zone, our safety net. He knows where you are on your journey and walk with Him. He knows when you need to move on to a new octave or new key, or if you need to stay in that middle c range of music. I am learning to trust the Lord that He will lead me to safety, even when I fall into the oceans of failure. I know that He is leading me to new waters to grow in His word and share His love with others. And whether that is to the ends of the earth, or in Redlands, CA, He is faithful and has promised me assurance of salvation. Is God calling us to transition into a new key, with those scary sharps and flats?
Or are we still playing middle c?
-Jenna
