How Music Changed My Life


I was reading Dennie Jernigan's testimony about how he came to writing music. His song, "My All in All" is one of my favorite songs - any broken person can claim that we need God to lift us when we fall and to fill us up when we are empty. Here is an excerpt from his website about his first intimate encounter with God through music. I remembered the time when I was in Cebu. It was just an ordinary Sunday and we were in the afternoon service at LWCM with my then classmates, Ryan, Honnie and Cherry. When the praise and worship service came, God spoke to me - in a way I have never experienced before. It was personal, very intimate and I found myself crying in His presence. Read this experience from D. Jernigan.

Upon my graduation from OBU in 1981, God began to move in supernatural ways that even I couldn't see! One of these instances was a simple music concert. A group called The Second Chapter of Acts was going to be in concert in Norman, Oklahoma, and I knew that I was supposed to go. By that time in my life I was looking for anybody who was real - someone who had a real walk with the Lord. And among Christian musicians, I was looking for more than entertainers. So, I went to their concert. I knew by the words they said and the music they sang that these people were genuine, and the message was born out of times of desperation in their own lives. I needed hope. As I listened to Annie Herring speak and sing, I was overwhelmed by the love she spoke of. This was the love I had dreamed of but still couldn't believe was available to me! So I listened very intently with great expectation - until she came to the song "MansionBuilder."* This song caught my deepest attention because of the simple phrase, "Why should I worry? Why should I fret? I've got a MansionBuilder Who ain't through with me yet!" All of a sudden she just stopped in the middle of the song and said, "There are those of you here who are dealing with things that you have never told anyone and you are carrying those burdens and that's wrong-that's sin and you need to let those hurts go and give them to the Lord. We are going to sing the song again and I want you to lift your hands to the Lord-and all of those burdens that you are carrying, I want you to place them in your hands and lift your hurts to Him." This was all new to me-worship and praise. I had always thought before that this was just an emotional response that didn't really mean anything. But you know what it did for me? As I lifted my hands, God became more real to me than I had ever imagined! The lifting of my hands was more than a physical action. My hands were an extension of my heart! I realized that Jesus had lifted His hands for me - upon the cross. I realized that He truly was with me and He truly was beside me and that He was willing to walk with me and carry me and just be honest with me. And I could be honest with Him! At that moment, I cried out to God and lifted those burdens to the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, I can't change me or the mess I've gotten myself into - but You can!" And you know what? He did change me!

From that day on, I made a promise to God that I will serve Him through music. But how? Serious doubts came to me - I don't know how to play any musical instrument. I don't know how to compose songs or I'm not even sure that I could read notes - even singing experience came out very late. While most singers start when they were young, I just started singing when I was in college. I always thought I had a bad voice but it did came out good when I was college. Anyway, with everything that has been happening to me, I still trust in God's time. Even though it seems that learning music is so far away and when everyone expects that I get a job abroad in the semiconductor industry, still I just delight in God with what I have.