Stirring

Music is without a doubt the medium that moves my heart the most.  Although I am not personally gifted as a musician or a singer, I find that music has the ability to draw my affections toward my Lord like nothing else can.  There have been times when I have been as spiritually parched as a desert, but when I meditate on God's Word set to music it literally makes my soul sing.  Nothing seems to stir me from a funk like music.
And today was one of those days when I needed some stirring.  The early morning is my favorite time of the day because that's when I can connect with God without interruption.  Well, it just so happened that my youngest decided to wake up (and stay up) at 4:45 a.m., which meant that my communion time wasn't happening this morning.  Also, my wife had to go in to work which meant it was my morning to motivate the kids without her, and as a result it was a little on the wild side in our house.  Just getting them into the car on time can require a minor miracle.

The drive to their school isn't very long, but we always try to listen to some praise music on the way to kind of settle the mood.  Normally Hillsong is in the CD player but today I went with something different.  Richard Kingsmore is a musician, composer, and good friend, and a few weeks ago he gave me a copy of his new CD entitled "Hope."  This mostly instrumental music compilation is a project that Richard has put together in an effort to raise awareness and financial resources for those committed to taking the gospel to the dark regions of our world.  I've had the CD sitting on my kitchen counter since he gave it to me, staring up at me almost daily, but I had yet to put it into my CD player.  I just hadn't gotten around to it yet.  God ordained that I got around to it today.

I wasn't far out of the driveway when the music I was hearing began to stir my soul.  There were no words set to that first song, yet it was powerful and sincere enough to make my eyes mist as I felt any tension and frustration quickly exit my body.  It was as if God was reminding me of who He is in spite of all my efforts to forge ahead with who I want to be.  The rest of the CD has been playing almost constantly throughout my day.  I know this may sound like a shameless plug for "Hope," but when God inspires someone to write, sing, dance, create, or move, they will inevitably share that inspiration along the way and your soul will be stirred as mine has been today.

What is it that stirs your soul for God?  When was the last time He caught you full force in His moment and took your breath away?  You don't always have to retreat to a special place or carve out huge chunks of time for Him to have His way with your heart.  Sometimes the things right in front of your face are what can stir your soul the most.