Tune My Heart to Sing Thy Praise - Katie Coley

Psalm 34:1 “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”

I have been living and learning in East Texas doing the Fellowship for about 8 months now. When I chose to do the Fellowship, I knew I wanted to invest a year for learning more about the Lord and growing in my relationship with Him. Learning about what it means to be an instrument for the Lord. So far – this has happened constantly, just differently than how I expected. The Fellowship has pushed me to lean on the Lord in unanticipated ways, brought to light unaddressed fears, and been an incredible experience that God is using to “Tune My Heart to Sing His Grace”.

Last line sound familiar? It is a verse in the popular hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (which happens to kind of be our fellows worship song this year). During a particularly difficult season of the fellowship when my circumstances made me feel out of control and overwhelmed, the verse of this hymn about tuning my heart stuck out to me.  In that same moment, I realized if I was supposed to be an instrument for the Lord, I definitely had some out of tune notes.

Having grown up around music and a piano, I knew what it meant to tune an instrument. You need special equipment (like a tuning lever/tuning wrench) to be able to tighten the pins and adjust the strings to be tighter or looser to raise or lower a note. Making strings tighter without proper care can break the strings, and the process of tightening the strings strains on them. Being tuned by the Lord is not painless but instead strains us or sanctifies us. The strain comes from how we are naturally inclined to be complacent, discontent, selfish, ungrateful, and sinful. During this fellowship, I have seen God use my circumstances, my community, and Truth as tools to tune my heart. To point out my flaws and sins to myself and those around me. To reveal the ways that I am “out of tune”.

Another thing you need to tune an instrument is a tuner and a bunch of time. A tuner will tell you if a note is sharp or flat. How incredible is it that there is an omniscient God who knows our hearts completely without a tuner?! Psalm 139:13-14 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” A Savior who, would not just give up time, but sacrifice His life and raise from the grave to give us the opportunity to have a relationship with our perfect and holy God?! Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is worthy of ALL our praise!!

The concept of God tuning my heart has been such a gift. This gift does not stay confined to the Fellowship, but will extend to my entire future walk with God. Even though I will fall short my entire life, what a reminder of the pleasure it is to be tuned by my Creator to look more like Christ and praise Him in all seasons of refinement and difficulty.

Throughout the Fellowship I have learned more about the Lord and how He sees me. I have seen and experienced God tuning my heart with a purpose and my best in mind. The Lord has used the Fellowship as a tool to push me to praise Him as I should – because He deserves ALL our praise and ALL the glory.

Psalm 105:1 “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”

- Katie Coley