My good friend, Dennis Jernigan, is a psalmist. He writes praise and worship songs. He prefers to think of himself as a song receiver. And that seems accurate – his songs are from the Lord, and they touch hearts and lives and are meaningful songs of worship not just for Dennis but for others as well. As a worship leader, Dennis mainly seems to just sing from his heart and worship the Lord. He doesn’t direct or control the worship experience, he just worships and invites you to do the same. He embraces the Father and it’s easy to join him in song and do the same.
Trish and I went to a “Night of Praise” led by Dennis this past Friday night in Oklahoma City. This, by the way, is a monthly event. You can see the schedule for these and other events dennisjernigan.com. The next three will be at Emmaus Baptist Church in south Oklahoma City.
My voice is weaker than it was before I had cancer. It is not as resonant as it once was. It tires more easily. I don’t have the same range I used to. It feels strained with prolonged use, especially if I sing loud or shout. There were several times Friday evening I just wanted to shout out praises to God. We have attended churches in the past where that was totally acceptable behavior. And, it is at Dennis’ Nights of Praise. However, since my bout with cancer six years ago, shouting does not work well for me. My voice is weaker than it was before. Mainly as a side affect of seven weeks of radiation, the tissues and muscles in my throat lack the elasticity they used to have. A shout usually comes out okay, a little less volume, and a little less resonance, but then it kind of catches and my throat feels almost shredded and abused and it takes a minute or two to recover.
You know what? I have a voice. I had throat cancer, and I have a voice. I can still sing praises to my Lord. I can still worship. I can talk. I can pray. I can talk to my family, my wife, my friends. I not only survived cancer, I came through throat cancer still able to talk and sing and pray. Satan was not allowed to silence me. I am blessed.
Father God, thank You for healing. It is not about me, or how well I sing, or how pretty my voice is, or even whether or not I can shout (much less how loud). It is about You! I do not have to yield in silence while creation praises God. I can join in and honor You with my praises. Lord, I humbly thank you. I joyfully thank you. I enthusiastically thank you!
