Tension is the state of being stretched tightly.
In order to realize all you were meant to become and experience in life, you can’t avoid the necessary stretching and tension you may feel between two extremes—your human limitations and your God-given potential.
Italian violin maker, Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), was a master violin craftsman and innovator, who brought the craft of violin making to its highest peak of perfection. His violins and cellos rank among the finest and most expensive instruments in the world.
The Stradivarius “Messiah” violin, for example, is estimated to have a worth of $20 million. Made in 1716, this historic violin remains amazingly in almost perfect, “like new,” condition.[1]
With the mindset to build and improve upon every violin he ever made, Antonio Stradivari strived for perfection; the very best a violinist could ever hope to put between their chin and their hand.
Built to bear the TENSION of four finely tuned strings, the violins of Antonio Stradivari would enable the foremost violinists of the world to not only realize their greatest potential, but also to produce the most beautiful music and extraordinary sound the world has ever heard.
What can we learn about what God could possibly PRODUCE through the TENSION we may be feeling this day?
The Bible tells us in Leviticus 23, that there were three annual agricultural feasts God called the people of Israel to come and offer thanksgiving to the Lord. When the first temple was built, the city of Jerusalem became the destination for these sacred pilgrimages.
Additionally, these three feasts were also celebrations to commemorate three significant events for the people of Israel: (1) How God delivered His people from their bondage in Egypt; (2) How God sanctified them through His Word on Mount Sinai; and (3) How God sheltered His people for 40 years as they traveled through the wilderness, from Egypt to their Promised Land.
Making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem wasn’t cheap. The trip itself would be an expensive undertaking, a stretch and huge sacrifice, especially for an entire family. The trip could also be a dangerous one, with bandits and unknown threats along the way.
Psalm 125 is one of the 15 psalms of ascent, the people of Israel would sing when making a very “stretching and straining” pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
It begins with these words, . . .
† Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever. Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, both now and forever. The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong.
Psalms 125:1-3 NLT
Trusting in God can be a huge stretch for a lot of people.
Yet that stretching, that trusting in God, is a necessary component for making such an expensive and potentially dangerous trip to Jerusalem.
For the people of Israel, the pilgrimage itself is where they would feel that tension they were actually called and built to bear. Their pilgrimage was much like a violin string stretched between their human limitations (where their journey would begin) and their God-given potential culminating in praise and thanksgiving to God (where their journey would end).
Learning to balance that TENSION one can feel between the two extremes of our human limitations and our God-given potential can be challenging.
WHY? It’s a lot safer, easier and less expensive to live in our comfort zones, rather than feel the tension that comes when being stretched. To keep the status quo and not reach for something better is often preferable because it offers less risk and pain.
The PROBLEM, however, is that this kind of mindset and life journey can be likened to a high quality violin string that remains in its package, never used for its intended purpose.
No matter how high the quality a violin string may be, WITHOUT the stretching and tension it was made to bear, it remains unusable.
I love the New Living Translation of Psalm 125:4. It’s a prayer and it says, . . .
† O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with You.
Psalms 125:4 NLT
A heart that is in “tune” with God means to have an upright heart—a heart that is honest before God, with oneself and with others.
Whenever musicians gather together to play, the first thing they do is tune. To tune an instrument means to adjust some component of the instrument in order to bring it to the proper pitch.
For wind instruments, tuning could mean making an adjustment to a slide, a valve or mouthpiece. For a percussionist, it could mean turning the screws on a drum head. But to tune a stringed instrument, it means adjusting the tension of each string.
Feeling the tension between our human limitations and our God-given potential is not always easy, but often necessary.
A healthy tension is necessary because it enables our Maker to produce the most beautiful and extraordinary life we could ever live in Him, through Him and for Him!
The words of the psalmist in verse 4, are also a prayer asking God to do good to those who are good. To be good, means having the qualities required for a particular role or purpose. And in this prayer, the psalmist is essentially asking God to add value to those who can become even more valuable!
When instruments are in tune, they are deemed good to now play and make music together. Being in tune means they are now found to be of great value not just in their usefulness, but also in their readiness for the purpose at hand of making music.
In the same way, being a person whose heart is in tune with God—whose heart is upright—means they are also deemed to be good; possessing qualities of great value not only in their usefulness, but also in their readiness for the specific role or purpose God has ordained for them, in this season of their life.
Let me encourage your today:
God wants to grant unto you the grace you need for the tension you may be feeling this day!
The tension in your life today may be great, but in Christ, God is greater!
In His grace, God can adjust the tension you may be feeling today, and bring your heart to be perfectly in tune with Him. In fact, He can give you a brand new heart—an upright heart—and put a new spirit within you!
It’s the Lord’s promise to His people:
† ”I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”
Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
If you don’t know Jesus, follow Him today!
If you do know Jesus, trust Him with the tension in your life and ask Him for the grace to use the gifts He has given you to fulfill the potential He has uniquely placed within you.
When you do this, you can trust God to use the TENSION in your life to PRODUCE the most beautiful and extraordinary life you could ever live in Him, through Him and for Him!
Let me PRAY for you!
Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, and everything in them; our Maker and our Redeemer! It’s humbling to think about what your Word tells us in Ephesians 2:10: that we are Your masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus for good works You already planned for us long ago. It’s humbling to think You already built us to bear the tensions You would need to do something special in our lives.
Lord, as we lift up our families, friends and new comers today, grant unto us the grace we need for the tensions of life we may be feeling this day, this week, this season in our lives. Help to use the gifts You have given us to fulfill the potential You have uniquely fashioned within each of us. And lastly, use the tension you created each of us to bear, to produce something beautiful, extraordinary and of great value to You and Your kingdom! Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen!