Too Sick to Sing? You are in Miracle  Territory!

 Do  you get physically ill right before you are scheduled to sing? Have you had to cancel time after time, due to a sore throat or other cold symptoms? From the time I was sixteen years old until I was twenty-five, for me, singing meant sickness. Almost every time I was scheduled to sing in church, I found myself
feeling terrible, too sick to sing. Does this sound familiar to you?  

When I accepted my first ministry position as choir director, I was determined that this could not continue. I had laryngitis the week before my first solo, and did not start feeling better until Friday. Did I feel like singing? No.  In faith, I sang anyway. By Sunday, my voice was a little scratchy, but I trusted God, and God delivered me from that continuous cycle of sickness.  

If you are going to minister through music, many times you will find yourself “sick” the days preceding the day you are to sing. This is a lie, a trick of the enemy. In the Name of Jesus, you can  sing. Satan wants to destroy your desire to minister through music. So many  times I have found that by stepping out in faith to sing, it isn’t long until the cold symptoms are gone. One time, I was coughing so much that singing seemed
impossible. In faith, I stepped to the microphone to sing, and the coughing stopped. I sang for thirty minutes with no problems and proclaimed to a group at  our local County Fair, that Jesus Christ is still Lord. When I stepped down from the platform, the coughing resumed, but I had done what I came to do. When you learn to recognize these strategies and tactics of the enemy, you will also learn to stand in the Name of Jesus. He is your strength, your song and your victory.  

Now, having sung with a quartet for more than twenty years, I look back at all of the times God has rescued us in this area. It is great when we are all feeling healthy and ready to sing, but it is even more amazing when one of us is feeling sick, and God intervenes. We pray together in the Name of Jesus. We pray as
Jesus instructed: “When two agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it  shall be done for them of My Father who is in heaven.”(Matthew 18:19) God provides!  And God gets the glory! 

Is  there ever a time when I probably would not sing?  Obviously, I would not sing if I had no voice at all, or if I had some very drippy cold or something else that is highly contagious.  Pray and ask God, but don’t excuse yourself too easily.  Our gospel is not one of - Do I feel like it? If you are extremely sick, then you will still need to walk in faith trusting that God will heal you and provide someone else who will be “instant in and out of season” to minister to the congregation.  
 
Is it OK to take cold medications or cough syrup? God tells us in Ezekiel 47:12, that “leaves are for medicine.” Medicine was God’s idea. Today, many medicines are made from plant leaves. (I love it when science confirms what the Bible says is true.) But more important than medication, is faith.
                                      
Healing scriptures to build your faith:

Isaiah 53:5 – But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Psalm 103:1-5 – Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and forget not all of His benefits: Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases; who satisfies you mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are
called according to His purpose. (God takes what the enemy means for harm and works it for our good.)

And finally, “Having done all, stand.” (Ephesians 6:13) You do what you know to do, and trust God to do the rest. Trust God and He will enable you to do what seems impossible.

©   Mary Willock,  2014 - 2020
You have permission to print copies of this article for use in your personal or church related ministry.