Hi, I'm Joni and I’m asking God to tune my heart to brave music today and this is the song He gave; sing it with me.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns,
Alleluia, holy, holy, are you Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb, Amen
Wow! There’s a song to infuse courage in my heart; and make me brave. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and when it comes to Christians who have most influenced my life, I resonate with those who can sing in the midst of their suffering. Because sometimes like you I can feel pretty weary, especially me in this wheelchair. And when I do, I turn to the Bible, as well as the writings of Christian saints of days gone by: people who really experienced suffering, but who could also hold onto a song, who could lift brave music to the skies! A believer who could do that was St. Augustine. Get this: he was born in the 3rd century and after his conversion to Christ in the Year 387, Augustine dove deep into the study of God's Word. It was St. Augustine, in fact, who believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he’s the one credited with framing the concept of original sin. Eventually he became a bishop of the church in present-day Algeria, North Africa. And as you can probably guess, his writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity.
Anyway, this man’s life was not easy. Come on, living back in the 3rd Century in North Africa it had to be hard! But what St. Augustine wrote about suffering is so poignant, his thoughts (when you read them) sound so contemporary, like something out of a Max Lucado book. And St. Augustine has some deep, but very sweet things to say about trusting the Lord in the midst of hardship. So when I'm feeling weary, when I feel overwhelmed or struggling with pain, or looking for courage, I often borrow this prayer St. Augustine wrote back in the third century. He prayed:
God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the skies gray and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our souls have lost courage. On such days, flood the path with light, we beseech Thee; turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to Thy honor and glory, we pray. Amen.
Today, maybe your heart needs to be tuned to brave music.
© Joni and Friends
Used by permission of Joni and Friends
P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA 91376