New Things
Have you ever listened to a live orchestra? What’s your favorite part about it?
There’s the diversity in instruments, there’s the unity among all the musicians, there’s the creativity in the music composition, and of course there’s the beautiful performance of each song.
My favorite part? None of those. I do love them, don’t get me wrong, but my favorite part is just before it all:
The musicians are in place…the lights are dimmed…the audience is silent and waiting with anticipation…and then…the instruments start tuning to one another.
Goosebumps! (I promise I’m not messing with you, I genuinely love it.)
To some it probably sounds like an unplanned and uncoordinated hot mess. And I admit that all the instruments finding the right note doesn’t particularly sound like a masterpiece; but that’s not why I love it. I love the tuning instruments because it signals to the audience:
“Get ready! Something beautiful is about to happen.”
It’s the joyful anticipation of what’s coming that draws me in and sends chills up my spine.
There’s something about anticipation that gives us just as much excitement as the actual thing we’re anticipating. Like a much needed vacation that’s just around the corner, a bride about to walk down the aisle, the arrival of a baby or the adoption of a pet, a new job or personal opportunity, even a book or music release we’ve been waiting on.
Anticipation actually spurs a dopamine release in our bodies.
“When an individual anticipates something good happening, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released, resulting in positive feelings”. -Psychology Today
Amazing. Just the thought and anticipation of a good thing can have positive impacts on our mind and body!
What if we integrated anticipation into our faith in this new year? What if we believed and had faith in God for good things?
I know that might be asking a lot of you. You’ve been through really painful times and to think of anything good happening is unfathomable right now. You’ve tried to be positive before but didn’t see the results you were hoping for. Maybe you don’t even trust that God cares enough to bring anything good, even if it were possible.
I get it. I’m a plan-for-the-worst-so-I’m-not-disappointed-later kind of person myself. But what else can we do? If we can’t cling to some morsel of hope we will only drown in our anticipation of the worst.
And what if God does come through? What if that relationship is restored? What if the finances do get better? What if we do get healed physically or mentally? What if we do overcome the struggles we’re facing? What if our hearts can be healed?
I think the joyful anticipation of good outcomes is worth considering the good “what-if’s”.
When we think about an orchestra, if the musicians don’t tune their instruments to the right chords (and to one another) from the beginning, there will be no beautiful performance. If there is no practices, no planning, no coordinating months in advance, the concert execution will be lackluster. If everyone wants to play their own solo, and not work as a team, the disunity will create disaster.
We can hope for any number of good things this year but, if we are not “in tune” with God, we may just miss all of the good things He actually brings us. We may be missing a good thing that He has for us right now. We may even glaze over the fact that our circumstances so far have been God’s way of preparing us and leading us to the new things He has for us.
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” Isaiah 43:19a
God is doing new things in your life this year! Anticipate and believe it as you tune yourself to God’s plans.
-Stephanie Lauren Jordan
(formerly Stephanie Lauren Auman)
