Tune My Heart to Sing Your Praise

 This week my family is on vacation with all of my husband, Michael's, family. We're staying in a giant, million dollar house that all of my children keep getting lost in! It sits on 16 acres - has a fishing pond, a heating pool and hot tub, a theatre room, more tv's than Best Buy (my children are astounded by that!) wooded trails, deer everywhere and so many spots to hide and find seclusion! YES! YES! YES! My heart needs seclusion. People assume that I'm an extrovert, but really, my heart feeds on silence so that I can joyfully be with people! There's something about being stuck in the middle of nowhere that pulls me to listen more carefully to God calling me, drawing me. It's one of my favorite truths about Him. Song of Songs 1:4 says, "Draw me after You; let us run!" God loves to draw us out, to beckon us, to call us. He loves to see us listen, answer and eagerly run after Him. My 1-year old, Evelyn, does this. When I call her name, or she sees me enter a room, her little feet start running towards with that million dollar smile and her pudgy hands outstretched waiting to be scooped up into my arm and squeezed until she squeals. How that delights my heart to the bone! How much more when we run to the Father, the Bridegroom, Our Friend in this same way?!

This morning I was reading in Psalm 86 and I was struck by or halted by verse 11-12:

"Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; tune my heart to fear Your name. I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your name forever." 

My eyes became glued to the word, "TUNE." 

TUNE. Perfect Pitch. Perfect sound. Unified with uprightness. My piano at home is right now out of tune. It needs a tuning desperately. It still sounds like a piano, but off. It hasn't changed it's identity or purpose or calling in life, but it's just a little off. The sound isn't quite right, what it was created to be. It can still be played and useful, but lacks it's brilliance and purity. It's an old piano. It's been around a while and has seen many tunings in its existence. The sound right after it's tuned is stunning for an old upright, like it's been restored to its right standard and full potential. 

God reminded me of this today. It's time for a tuning, Hol. Not that I've changed my identity or purpose or calling in life. But God needs to keep me tuned up...tuned up to who He is, the right standard in whom I become my full potential. To be tuned is to be returned to perfect alignment with God. I find it interesting that David prays for God to tune his heart...and after that in verse 12 declares, "I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my WHOLE HEART and I will glorify Your name forever." When we are in tune with God, in perfect rhythm and pitch - holiness, brilliance and purity, we can worship Him with our WHOLE HEART. When we're off pitch, out of tune, out of sync with God, that is when our heart is segmented into different pieces of loyalty and distraction for other things. I think the key to loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength is to pray this prayer that David prayed. "Father, teach me Your ways and keep my heart tuned to fear You, to be in awe of You, to walk like You and speak like You."  When we pray this, we become like my Evelyn, running toward our Father with a million dollar smile and child-like hands waiting for Him to scoop us up and bring us into His embrace of righteous alignment. 

Today I feel God tuning me. Tomorrow I'll probably need Him to do it again. Evelyn runs to me 386 times a day like this... (and she's FINALLY saying, "Mama," by the way! That makes it even sweeter!) Abba! Father! Tune my heart to sing Your praise. 











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