NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS

They were singing the song that his servant Moses and the Lamb had sung. They were singing, “Lord God All-Powerful, you have done great and marvelous things. You are the ruler of all nations, and you do what is right and fair.”  Revelation 15:3 CEV

All my life, I have loved to sing. Sadly, to sing on key was not a talent the Good Lord decided to bestow upon me. Some of my earliest memories are of my brother howling, like a dog crying in pain, whenever I would sing. Sometimes he wasn’t as subtle, like when he told me, “You sing like a dead octopus!” Fortunately, my brother grew up to be an all-around-nice-kinda guy. 🙂 Unfortunately, comments about my singing were not limited to pesky childhood siblings. In college, I was “lovingly” given the name “Modulating Lisa” by my friends because no matter how hard I tried, I could never stay in the key a song was written!

BUT, you may be happy to know (or not), this has not stopped me from singing! The Bible repeatedly exhorts us to sing. Here are just a few places:

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:1-2 ESV 

 

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:1-2 ESV

 

I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise. Psalm 101:1 ESV

 

addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Ephesians 5:19 ESV

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV

 

So, I continue to bellow songs out loud from the deepest parts of my soul—in private!

Lately, the song I have been singing has been The Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman, which I only heard recently for the first time even though it was released last year. Check out this song!

Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight
Don’t try to figure it out
Just listen to what I’m whispering to your heart
‘Cause I know this is not
Anything like you thought
The story of your life was gonna be
And it feels like the end has started closing in on you
But it’s just not true
There’s so much of the story that’s still yet to unfold

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
You’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding

God’s plan from the start
For this world and your heart
Has been to show His glory and His grace
Forever revealing the depth and the beauty of
His unfailing Love
And the story has only begun

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
We’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding

We were made to run through fields of forever
Singing songs to our Savior and King
So let us remember this life we’re living
Is just the beginning of the beginning

Of this glorious unfolding
We will watch and see and we will be amazed
If we just keep on believing the story is so far from over
And hold on to every promise God has made to us
We’ll see the glorious unfolding

What an incredibly encouraging song! It resonates so strongly. When I first heard it, I had been losing sleep every night because I was fretting over some loved ones whom were going through crises. Things were not turning out like I had expected. God used the song to completely change my perspective. I think the most endearing thing about this song, is the songwriter’s story.  Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this after experiencing a very dark place in his journey. His five-year-old daughter was killed when his seventeen-year-old son ran over her in the driveway of their home. I couldn’t even imagine losing a child and yet this family’s heartbreak was so much worse. But by the Grace of God, they emerged with a trust and hope that something glorious is still unfolding from their worst tragedy.

Soon after I started singing this song, news broke about the suicide of Robin Williams. I kept thinking, what if he had someone in his life who could have encouraged him with words similar to the words in this song?

Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
We’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding

Would it have made a difference? We will never know. But I felt compelled to share this on my blog. If you are discouraged and ready to give up on God–don’t! Sorry for using this old colloquialism, but my friend, it’s not over till the fat lady sings! (This popular quote from Dan Cook, a sports broadcaster in the 70’s, originally was “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings”, which basically means you shouldn’t presume to know the outcome of your circumstances when they are still in progress!) Your story isn’t over yet!

I love the featured verse! They were singing the song that his servant Moses and the Lamb had sung. They were singing, “Lord God All-Powerful, you have done great and marvelous things. You are the ruler of all nations, and you do what is right and fair.” Revelation 15:3 CEV.  When our life on this earth is over, we will still be singing! And look what we will be singing when we have Heaven’s vantage point– Lord, you have done great and marvelous things! You do what is right and fair!

Until I get to Heaven, I am keeping my eyes on the Author and Finisher of my faith–the one who does all things well! (Hebrews 12:2 KJV; Mark 7:37)) And just so you know, when my story on earth is over, I will be singing with the best of them! No more howling. 🙂 How do I know this? Because scripture says there will be no more crying or pain in Heaven! (Revelation 21:4 NIV) I’m not sure about the fat part. LH

The following two tabs change content below.
is an aspiring Bounty Hunter who is always looking for God's Bounty-- His grace and goodness-- in the mundane and melancholy as well as in the miraculous. She is also a wife, mother of four adult children--two with Cerebral Palsy, grandmother and minister of the Gospel. "You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance." Psalm 65:11 NLT

Latest posts by Lisa Hempel (see all)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *