By: Linda Walters, Philadelphia Evangelical Examiner
Via: examiner.com
Recently, God granted me the privilege to interview Kathy Taylor, a musical phenom. Some people are gifted to be anointed singers and touch a few lives. In limited situations, people like Aretha Franklin have voices that qualify to be called an instrument. But Kathy Taylor’s voice is an instrument and she is a reservoir of God’s anointing that He strategically sends out to reclaim spiritual territory wherever He causes her feet to tread.
God recently exposed me to Ms. Taylor’s music at a Holy Convocation.* She came out and began to sing, threw her head back as if to make a holy hookup with God, and it seemed like Heaven and Earth met for a few moments. She enthralled the congregation with music from her latest project Kathy Taylor Live – The Worship Experience, a must have for your collection.
She is a vessel so in tune with her purpose as a psalmist, which exudes from her, that she seems to recall milestones in her life by the song she sang at the time. She serves as the Minister of Music at the Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas, and is a song writer, producer, and community activist. In addition to being honored to sing before Queen Elizabeth, she is also a Stellar Award nominee. Her success, however, correlates with her sufferings.
The Word in Proverbs 27:21 says, “As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.” The intense depths of praise displayed by Ms. Taylor’s anointed ministry could only come forth after God takes you through the fire so you can come forth as pure gold. As is the Lord’s pattern, He takes, blesses, breaks, and then gives, so my task was to unveil this process in her life, which she so graciously shared.
Significantly, she began by noting the undiluted Word of God she receives at her church. Her church is one that still tarries for the Holy Ghost, which briefly means to wait in the presence of the Lord until He inundates your very soul by baptizing you with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
She went on to share that she lost her father when she was nine; suffered through a divorce after twelve years of marriage; and has experienced the healing power of God after He raised her blood count overnight to avoid surgery due to an abscess on her appendix. But her breaking point of significance came when, as she put it, her mother “dropped dead” on New Year’s Eve three years ago.
It was at this point, in spite of all her accomplishments clearly resulting from God’s Hand being on her life, that the Body of Christ almost lost this distinguished warrior because she had unknowingly erected an idol in her heart – her mother. The death of her mother caused Ms. Taylor to leave the church for about one month. She became angry with God and told Him that her mother had been her backbone. It was at this time that God told her “He” wanted to be her “backbone.”
God allowed things to come to a head, and had she not heeded His leading to return to church one particular Sunday morning, her life and the lives of those she was sent to impact may never have been the same. Upon her return, the fear of “dropping dead” like her mother opened the door for Satan to torment her during that service. He threatened that if she raised her hands to praise God she would “drop dead” too. But she lifted her hands anyway and, praise God, she’s still here.
See, her mother, tasked with raising her and her siblings alone after losing her father at an early age, became Ms. Taylor’s inspiration. It was her mother who prayed that she and her siblings would be used as musical gifts for the Lord. Her musical heritage was transferred to her by her mother, who not only taught her music but became her mentor. So, it was no wonder she came to rely so heavily on her mother. Yet, this dependency had seated her mother on the throne in her heart that only belongs to God. Once she repented, it was then that her pastor noted her elevation in Christ. She came to realize that her 89 year old mother’s death had been a blessing because she was spared any suffering and just went home to be with the Lord.
Additionally, God called Brenda Waters home – another anointed gift to the body of Christ who also mentored Ms. Taylor. The day before her death, Ms. Waters called Ms. Taylor to her bedside and transferred her musical mantle to Ms. Taylor.
Consequently, Ms. Taylor’s past sufferings now afford many an opportunity to be ushered into the very presence of Almighty God.
Proverbs 27:19 says, “As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.” I could relate with Ms. Taylor’s candid testimony, and I believe many of you will too. Amazingly, God will use you even when His allegiance is shared with another for a season. But idolatry is nothing to play with, and while God is so gracious to give us room to repent, we never know the day or the hour when the Lord will return. Like Ms. Taylor, get your house in order too while there’s still time. For God is a jealous god, and He needs to have total reign in your heart in order for the Body of Christ to accomplish all that needs to be done before His return. Church, get ready, Jesus Christ is coming back!
