Finding Middle C

Psalm 62:1-8 (CEV) ¹ (A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.) Only God can save me, and I calmly wait for him.
² God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe and the fortress where I am secure.
³ I feel like a shaky fence or a sagging wall. How long will all of you attack and assault me?
⁴ You want to bring me down from my place of honor. You love to tell lies, and when your words are kind, hatred hides in your heart.
⁵ Only God gives inward peace, and I depend on him.
⁶ God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe, and he is the fortress where I feel secure.
⁷ God saves me and honors me. He is that mighty rock where I find safety. ⁸ Trust God, my friends, and always tell him each one of your concerns. God is our place of safety.

AUTHOR LLOYD DOUGLAS tells of a time that he lived in a boarding house as a university student. Below him, in the apartment on the first floor, lived an elderly retired music teacher. The man was crippled and unable to leave his apartment. Douglas said that he had a regular ritual he developed, mostly as a means of keeping an eye on his infirm friend. Each morning before school, Douglas would open the front door to the man's apartment and ask in a booming voice, "Well, what's the good news?"

The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of his wheelchair, and say, "That's middle C! It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat, the piano across the hall is out of tune, but my friend, that is middle C!"

A lifetime in music had taught the old man one thing upon which he could depend. Everything else may change, but one constant will always remain: middle C.

If you've ever played in an orchestra, you know how important middle C is to the music. A fifty-piece ensemble could give a flawless performance on stage, but just let one lone trumpet play out of tune, and it ruins the entire concert. Orchestras depend on the constancy of middle C for the success of their composition.

Life is the same way. We need a true north on which we can depend. Something that will never change and never fail. Something constant, like God. "The mountains may depart and the hills disappear, but even then I will remain loyal to you. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,' says the Lord" (Isaiah 54:10). God is the middle C of life. He is the one note on which all others depend for success and continuity. If we set our instruments to him, our song will ring out pure and true. If we don't, we'll always find ourselves out of tune.

In a world of false ideas and scattered voices, it's nice to be part of an orchestra that plays faithfully to middle C.

Reflection

In what ways is it comforting to know that God is faithful? How can you put your trust in him completely, instead of listening to other voices promising fulfillment?

Embracing Eternity: Living Each Day with a Heart Toward Heaven.