Niccolo Paganini, a well-known Italian violinist in the early 1840s, noticed right before going out on stage for a concert, that the violin he was about to play wasn’t his, but an “ordinary” violin.

His high dollar instrument had been stolen and replaced with an inexpensive one.

He went backstage, thought for a minute, then came back and played a magnificent concert. He told the audience, “I will show you that the music isn’t in the instrument, but in the soul”. He went on to play so beautifully that he was given a standing ovation.

Our “music” in also in our soul. It’s how we look at things.

God made our souls for singing.

Are we going to be a pessimist and hear only music in a minor chord when things don’t go the way we want (which is very depressing)? Or will we be an optimist and hear the beauty, even when the music around us is solemn and slow?

It is a choice.

It’s not always an easy choice, but a choice nonetheless. Our song can be with thankfulness in our hearts as it says in Colossians 3:16.

Sometimes it’s difficult to see the good in our situation, like when you’ve been given a diagnosis of cancer or some other serious illness, but God is still good even in those situations.

He hasn’t left, He’s still with you.

My husband loves the deep sounds of the wind going through a large metal wind chime. The chimes do nothing, they just hang there, until the wind either gently or violently strokes them, or if a person moves them, making music.

In the music of our soul, God does the movement.

Just as the chimes are nothing until they are stroked by the wind or moved by our hand, the music of our soul is a response to the Lord’s movement in our hearts, and we can be His music to the world, even in difficult times.

When we focus on Him, our soul music is brighter, lighter and the world will notice.

It is a choice we make, sometimes daily, sometimes minute-by-minute. We can allow the Master to work His way in us and through us, by leaning on His unfailing, unchanging hand, or we can choose not to, and that would be a shame, because His compassions never fail. They are new every morning…” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Great is His faithfulness!

We may not be given a standing ovation like Paganini for what we do, but the angels in heaven will be celebrating!

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.  Acts 16:25

–by Pam Rehbein