“Lord, please use me today. I give it to you.

And may Your Name be glorified.”

I meant that prayer with every fiber of my being.

Yes, I did.

Well, I thought I did.

God blesses victories and successes. Right?

But what if there was a mistake, or an accident

or a miscarriage or failed adoption

or a divorce

or a rejected manuscript

or a failed business? And on and on and on.

What then?

Every time before I’d sit to play a piano solo or an offertory

I would ask the Lord to bless it and use it for His Glory.

It was His. And I played well.

But there was that day that changed my thinking.

I had practiced for hours and knew every note.

Backwards and forwards

with my eyes closed.

Then that moment came when I stepped to the piano.

The congregation waited.

I was nervous – I was usually nervous.

“Lord, help me” I cried within. Make it good, I thought.

And so I played

and everything was going so well

until I hit the last cord.

Discord sounded as I realized I had hit one wrong note.

Just one but the sound echoed in my ears long after I hit it.

I stumbled to my seat

Shakened by my foolish mistake

Ugh.

Embarrassment and disappointment covered me.

“Lord, I prayed” I cried out.

Then from somewhere deep within I sensed

“Did you give it to Me?”

“Why yes, Lord. You know I did.”

“Then the outcome is Mine too.”

Like sunshine breaking through the storm

I began to see.

The outcome was His to do with as He chose.

Something that I had missed for years.

Yes, I had given it. But I assumed He would give me

a flawless performance for His Glory.

But here it was still His and He allowed me

to experience less than perfect.

A mess, in my mind, because one wrong note spoiled it all.

Right?

As I thought and pondered I began to see

that when I give it all to Him

I need to take my hands off.

I need to accept His Will, His Way

whatever that may be.

Once more my heart was humbled as I began to see

how I tended to take ownership for the outcomes

if they were undesirable and I’d beat myself up for days

rather than trusting Him with it all.

Freedom broke forth

and liberation to give and serve

without holding onto the end result.

So who is holding the outcome for you?

Let Him have it all. Embrace the peace He gives.

Trust Him to use it all for His Glory and your good.

He longs to do just that for both of us.

Join me, won’t you.