Scripture: II Corinthians 12:1-10
And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:
for My strength is made perfect in weakness.
Song: His Grace Is Sufficient for Me
Mosie Lister once said, "I sweat blood over most of the songs I write. I work hard at making them what I think they ought to be.” Yet, Mosie admits that there are rare exceptions when the songs almost seem to write themselves. They come very quickly and seldom need a lot of changing or editing. Some of his songs that have become enormously popular, were written in as short a span as ten minutes.
His songs have been acclaimed by thousands of singers, simply by the fact they they have recorded them -- singers such as the Statesmen Quartet, Gold City, The Inspirations, Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn and George Beverly Shea, just to name a few.
He has been complimented by other great songwriters such as Albert Brumley, who said, “How Long Has It Been (Lister’s most popular song), is the greatest gospel song.” When Brumley was asked, “How about your song I’ll Fly Away?” Mr. Brumley replied, “It’s not in the same class.”
I first met Mosie Lister in 1958, in Tampa, Florida. I had the privilege of visiting him in his home, and of talking with him about his songwriting and his extensive music ministry. From subsequent interviews and from material published by Lillenas Publishing Company, who publish Mosie's choral arrangements, musicals, and song collections, I am able to bring you this story. I hope you are inspired by the following, just as Mosie told it:
“My Grace is Sufficient was literally a gift from God. In the mid-1960s, I realized I had gone for an incredibly long time without writing a song that had real worth -- that really meant something. It had been more than a year, and that was really rare for me. Though I sometimes worked on songs for several months, I never thought they were difficult to write. I had never been through a dry spell like that before. I began to search my mind and my heart.
“We were living in Tampa, Florida then, and one morning I was driving down town to pick up my mail. On the way I started to thinking about how long it had been since I had written a song, and I just sincerely and honestly prayed to God about it. I told Him that I felt that I might be at a place in my life where He was pointing me in another direction -- away from writing music. Yet, I really loved it and felt that it was given to me from Him.
“I told God that I was despondent over not writing anything in a long time, and that I just didn’t understand the reasons for it. I said, ‘Right now I just give You whatever ability I have. If you want me to go in another direction and leave writing, I’ll do that, and will be happy about it. I just need to know what Your will is. If You’ll show me Your will, I’ll do it.’
“After returning home, I did what I had done very often in those days. I took my guitar, sat down, and starting strumming and humming to myself. I found myself singing, ‘Many times I’m tired and tested as I travel day by day...’ I was on the second verse before it dawned on me what I was doing. It occurred to me that this was a new song, and I hadn’t written one in over a year.
“I then thought of the verse of Scripture where Paul says, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ That became the chorus of my song.
“Since then, I’ve never doubted that I’m doing exactly what God wants me to do. I feel that this song came along when I need its message for my own heart.
Reflection:
God seems to sometimes allow us to get to a point in our lives when we look up to Him in despair, thus, giving Him the opportunity to assure us that His grace is truly sufficient for every trail or temptation.
Author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Written: 03/07/2008
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Category: Behind the Songs
Comments: 2
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Thanks for an awesome story from the life of one of our greatest writers. What a blessing for those of us that are just a little bit younger.
Paul Jackson / The Prophets
http://www.pauljacksongroup.com/blog
Thank you, your reflection stories are very interesting. I also enjoy alot of the passages in Corinthians.
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