Sing and Be Not Silent

Psalm 30:4-5

Sing the praises of the Lord, 

you his faithful people; 

praise his holy name. 

For his anger lasts only a moment, 

but his favor lasts a lifetime; 

weeping may stay for the night, 

but rejoicing comes in the morning. 

Every person in this choir has been given a gift. Specifically, every person in this choir has been given a voice to sing. What would you do if that gift was suddenly taken away from you?

A friend from college, a fellow music major, spent 2 weeks one September in total silence. It all started with a strenuous prior school year of singing (5 hours of choir rehearsals, a 2 hour concert every week, in addition to voice lessons and practice), combined with a heavy class load, followed by a summer tour with nightly concerts, and it finally culminated with a burst blood vessel in her left vocal chord. Days that should have been spent in the practice rooms, rehearsing for a senior recital, were instead spent walking around with a white board and a marker. No singing. No speaking. No assurance that her voice would ever return to where it had been before.

After her time of complete vocal rest was over, she began to slowly work with her voice teacher to strengthen her singing voice, but that entire fall, and on into winter, she struggled with the ups and downs of good and bad days. In December, her doctor asked her what she wanted to do after college and she told him that she wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher. He told her that he thought that she would recover enough to use her voice some, but not as a career - probably not even as a Kindergarten teacher.

What might have devastated some was a challenge to this young college student. She had faith that God could heal her, but she also told the Lord that if she never sang again, she would still serve Him. During this time, she was greatly encouraged by the testimony of Duane Miller, a pastor who lost his voice to a virus but was miraculously healed in the middle of a sermon, which happened to be recorded.

When it became clear that she would not be vocally ready for a spring senior recital, she postponed it until the fall. She was able to walk at graduation ceremonies with the intent of finishing her recital and one remaining class post-graduation. And then that summer, while playing piano for a summer group overseas, she learned of the sudden death of her voice teacher. The devastating news was crushing.

But, out of this horrific tragedy came something unexpected – another voice teacher was recommended by three different people, and this new teacher brought new techniques, new hope, and ultimately a new voice.

A voice that had to go back to the very beginning, learning basic breathing and other vocal techniques. A voice that got stronger each day and was able to wow those who came to hear her beautiful recital a year and a half after her injury (and then another recital two years after that as she completed her Master’s degree in voice). A voice that we get to hear week after week in our Soprano section – the voice of Rebecca Genzink.

As she was preparing for that senior recital, she told her teacher that she was scared that people would listen and say, “Oh that poor girl. She’s compensating just fine, but imagine what she would sound like if she had never hurt her voice.” Her wise teacher responded by saying, “People will not know. And one day YOU will not know.”

Rebecca says that because of her injury, she is now vocally stronger. Because of her injury she is able to work in a special way with students who are also experiencing vocal hardships. Because of her injury, she teaches in the voice department at Azusa Pacific University and vocally leads our choir here at Pomona First Baptist. (And she could even teach Kindergarten if she wanted to!)

Rebecca told me this week, “When people pay me a compliment about my singing, I've often said, ‘The Lord gave me my gift twice.’ I think that my experience has made me twice as grateful for the opportunity to "Sing to the Lord, and be not silent." To me, instead of hearing that sentence as a command, I hear it as an opportunity, and one that I do not take for granted.”

So what are you doing with the gift God has given you? What an opportunity we have, what a JOY to come into this room on Wednesday night, and to stand in the loft each Sunday morning and share this beautiful gift for the glory of God.

Psalm 30:11-12

You turned my wailing into dancing; 

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 

that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. 

Lord my God, I will praise you forever.