Free Bird

Posted by Dion Todd March 19th, 2022 4,710 Views 0 Comments

He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many, and they followed him. The scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Mark 2:15'17 WEB.

I have played bass guitar now for over thirty years. There were some years where I played music for a living and performed about eight shows a week. Then for the next fifteen years, I played in clubs, county fairs, contests, weddings, and parties as a side job. I was a weekend warrior.

I originally started out playing guitar, but when some of us got together to form a garage band, there were five guitar players and a drummer. Everyone wanted to play the guitar, and they all played better than me, so I switched to playing bass. It became an obsession. I often played eight hours a day. To me, a good bass line became the driving force behind the band, the heartbeat. I began to feel the chord changes coming and walked up to meet them. Soon groups began to seek me out, and I shuffled three bands at a time.

After getting serious with God, I began praying about quitting the bands and bars, but I felt that I heard "No." It was a difficult time in my life, especially on Saturdays. I would work a 12-hour shift from 7AM to 7PM. Then play music from 10PM till 2AM, sometimes an hour away. Pack up a trailer full of equipment, then drive home. Sometimes when I would get home, the sun would be coming up.

Later, when I attended church, I played bass in the praise and worship team. We practiced at 8AM. Some Sunday mornings, I would just get a shower and go straight onto the church, red-eyed and weary after being up all night.

I began attending Bible college a few nights a week as well, and my mind kept telling me that it couldn't be God's will for me to continue playing music in bars. Yet, each time I prayed about quitting, the Lord would say, "No." I thought maybe I was just hearing Him wrong. So I came up with a way to ask my pastor, who heard from God far better than I did, but without tainting the answer.

If you ask any pastor, "Should I be playing music in bars?" Most of them are going to immediately tell you no. But I didn't want his opinion. I wanted confirmation from the Lord. So I prayed first and told the Lord my question in secret: "Should I leave the band?" I firmly decided that if the pastor told me yes, I would leave the group. But if he told me no, then I would stay.

Then I asked my pastor, "Pastor, I have a question and need to make a decision, Yes or No?" He liked these kinds of questions because they didn't complicate things. He prayed for a moment and said, "No, not at this time." I had my confirmation. So I continued playing the bar circuit, though I didn't understand any of it. I always felt funny when I was on stage in a bar playing music, and someone I knew from church would walk in. The look on their face was priceless when they saw me. I don't know if it was the shock of them seeing me or knowing that I saw them.

There was a guitar player in our band, one of the best I have ever played with. He played with such feeling and would close his eyes and go into a lead that would give you shivers. He was in his forties and had never been saved or religious. His parents were Christians, and his wife, but he had no interest in their religion whatsoever. He was completely closed off to their witnessing, and their words seemed to have no effect on him. I guess he had heard it all of his life and became hardened to it. As far as I know, he had never been to church as an adult.

I attended Bible college at night, worked every day, and played music on the weekends. Sometimes at practice, I would mention something that the Lord had done for me during the week. I fasted a lot at the time, and the Lord was really active in my life. I wasn't preachy but just overflowing about how good God was to me. I was just a fellow musician, one of the band, the bass player.

One Saturday night, we were on stage in a bar playing music, when I felt the Holy Spirit descend on me like a warm blanket. It was unmistakable, and I have rarely felt His presence that strong. I think we were in the middle of Skynyrd's Free Bird, and the Holy Spirit was the last Person I expected to show up. I recognized His presence immediately and said, "Lord, what are YOU doing here?" Then scriptures started coming to me, and the guitar player seemed to illuminate and catch my attention. It's hard to explain, but I knew the scriptures were meant for him.

I thought it over a moment and told the Lord, "Break time is coming up, and the band will go to the bar for a drink. I will go out, sit in my car, and read my Bible. If you want me to tell him these scriptures, then send him out to my car." Now it's a time-honored tradition for the band to huddle at the bar during a break, so if he came outside, it would be a small miracle.

When break time came, the band went to the bar, and I went to my car. I opened my Bible to the scripture the Holy Spirit had given me and read over it. In a few moments, there was a tap on the window. It was the guitar player. I got out of the car, and he began to ask me questions about God, and I already had my Bible open to his answer. So in the early morning, I stood out in the parking lot of a bar and shared an inspired word with him from the Lord. As I read the scripture to him, he began trembling under conviction, and it continued on until I saw him again that Wednesday night at practice.

When I showed up for practice, he was there waiting for me. I had never seen anyone under that much conviction before. He was trembling all over with tears in his eyes. He told me that he had been that way ever since the parking lot on Saturday night. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, and he couldn't stop shaking. He walked up to me and said, "Dion, I want what you have. Pray for my soul." So we knelt down together in the practice shed, and I led him through a simple prayer. He came up with a smile beaming from ear to ear, and his heavy burden was gone. He stopped trembling. He was now as free as a bird. After that, the Lord released me from the band. He had kept me there to reach that one lost sheep.

Remember the Lord's desire to save the lost, and don't become so religious that He can't use you. Follow His direction, and don't get too far in front of Him. "What would Jesus do" is often much different than what our natural mind would think. Every person out there is so important to God, and He is so concerned with reaching the lost that He will put you wherever the lost are. We don't have to understand why. We just need to trust that He knows best and follow Him one day at a time, even when we don't know where He is leading us. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Don't be surprised if you see them gathering around you when working with Him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I want more of You in my life. I want to live the real thing and not just talk. Please fill me with Your presence to overflowing. Deliver me from the things that hold me back. Set me free from the burdens I carry and use me to reach others. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.' (Philippians 4:6-7). If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network

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