MACK WILBERG AND RYAN MURPHY
Conductors
ANDREW UNSWORTH
Organist
DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word
ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING
Music: German hymn tune
Text: St. Francis of Assisi;
trans. William H. Draper
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
I FEEL MY SAVIOR’S LOVE
Music: K. Newell Dayley
Text: Ralph Rodgers Jr., K. Newell Dayley, and Laurie Huffman
Arrangement: Sam Cardon
PRELUDE ON “LITTLE DAVID, PLAY ON YOUR HARP” (ORGAN SOLO)
African American spiritual
Arrangement: Andrew Unsworth
COME TO MY GARDEN
from The Secret Garden Music: Lucy Simon
Text: Marsha Norman
Arrangement: Kurt Bestor
THE SPOKEN WORD
“The Ultimate Source for Inspiration”
PILGRIM SONG
American folk hymn
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
STANDING ON THE PROMISES
Music and Text: Russell K. Carter
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
The Spoken Word
The Ultimate Source for Inspiration
November 17, 2024
By: Derrick Porter
Have you ever felt weighed down, heavy with pressures or concerns for a loved one? Well, if you have, you’re not alone. I certainly have, and I imagine these are feelings that at one time or another everyone has felt.
This world is challenging, and as a result, we each have great need for inspiration. Receiving inspiration in times of trouble is like sunshine to the soul. It warms our spirits and motivates our actions. Sometimes inspiration can be found immediately, without much effort. And yet other times, it requires patience, looking forward with hope even while remembering inspiration received in the past.
Tchaikovsky, the famous composer, once said, “Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy.” True. Inspiration takes work! It isn’t something we simply download and receive with the click of a button, like we might do for the newest app on our phone. Instead, we must look for it, internalize it, and even appreciate where it can lead us.
So where do we look for inspiration? We look to God and to all He has created. As we do so, we recognize that everything that is good comes from Him and is inspired by Him.[1] He is the ultimate source of our inspiration.
Inspiration from God often comes as a thought or a feeling. But to fully benefit from inspiration, we must act on what we feel. Inspiration is given to move us to do something that will better our circumstances and fill us with a quiet confidence that with God, nothing is impossible.[2]
A woman I know suddenly found herself raising several young children on her own. She worried, “How can I do this alone? How can I support my children in their struggles while I, myself, feel so burdened and even at times hopeless?”
This strong woman looked for and found inspiration from God. With effort and focus, she received the guidance she needed and the strength to move forward. Her children thrived, her happiness increased, and she found contentment and even joy in the journey.
God did not abandon her. And He will never abandon you. He desires for us to find joy and purpose in our lives. As we go forward, may we seek Him as the ultimate source of our inspiration and strength, trusting that He is with us every step of the way.
[1] See Moroni 7:13–16.
[2] See Luke 1:37; Genesis 18:14.