Artist Devo: That Wasn’t Supposed to Happen… (Bobby Bishop)
Over the years, I’ve had quite a few of those “that’s not supposed to happen” moments. I’m referring to those moments to defy human reason; the ones that, whether negative or positive, leave you, well, dumbfounded.
In 2004, I started losing my voice during concerts. When I finally had it checked, an otolaryngologist informed me that I had a paralyzed vocal chord, and that singing was out of question. He reasoned that one vocal chord just was not sufficient, and that I’d be better off switching gears regarding my aspirations. I disregarded his advice, hired a vocal coach, and kept it moving. I’d like to boast my unwavering faith in God’s healing touch, but truth-be-told, I was simply being stubborn. Shortly thereafter, I encountered a fellow believer with the gift of intercessory prayer. In the midst of the Nashville GMA mayhem, he grabbed me out of the crowd in order to pray for my voice to heal. He’d never met me, nor did he know anything about me. He simply prayed that God would enable me to continue to minister, and to heal my voice. I was floored. I agreed to pray, and that we did. I never lost my voice again after that remarkable encounter. I confirmed just a few months ago that the vocal chord remains paralyzed, however, it hasn’t hindered me one bit. Since that time, I’ve had the opportunity to travel the country and world, and my voice has remained strong. My human reasoning told me, “that wasn’t supposed to happen…but it did.”
A couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of that God restored my voice all of those years back for the purpose of His glory. In times of doubt and confusion, I have reverted back to those remarkable moments. They have served as a reminder that God wants us to be sensitive to His calling on our lives. Instead of starting at closed doors, trying to will them open, we need to look around and see all the windows of opportunity opening around us.
Just a few weeks ago,I was playing at a music festival at a minor league baseball game with some very popular artists, and the crowd was growing as we waited for our mic check. I was excited because I had been practicing with a full band for months, and this was an opportunity to show what we had rehearsed. As the crowd grew, I realized that no one had actually done their mic check, and start time was rapidly approaching. I asked around and discovered that the production company had been called in due to a suspected short circuit somewhere in the sound system. One of my hype man, Good Friday, is a competent electrician and promptly offered up his services while they waited for the tech to arrive (on a holiday), but it was an equipment issue that could not be resolved that day. A small backup system was brought in, and Phil Joel, Stellar Kart, and more all prepared for acoustic sets without their bands. My new band stood there, admittedly disappointed that they would not be performing. As I took the stage with my loyal hype-men (Good Friday and Meccanism), we quickly rearranged the set (now running from an iPod.) Over 700 people enthusiastically applauded as we got them moving…until the sound shut down 15 seconds into the set. Here was the moment of truth. It was ninety degrees and humid, and we were baking in the sun. 700 music fans awaited a show that I could no longer execute. I have one moving vocal chord, after all, so an full set was out of the question. I felt compelled to keep going, however, as a peace came over me and I realized my squad hadn’t stopped hyping! So we kept going, the crowd gave us a hand clap, and we blazed through a full accapella set. It was a brilliant moment. My voice didn’t falter once, and, physically, it should have died after a couple of minutes. I recall thinking, “that wasn’t supposed to happen. But it did.”
God knows no boundaries, does He? He simply wants us to rely on Him, and disregard reason. He’ll use us in circumstances we thought impossible. Letting go and casting our cares upon Him is not always easy, but it is necessary if we are to be intimate with Him and sensitive to His voice.
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
Psalm 55:22 (NIV)
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