My husband Adams is an excellent drummer. And I have to confess, it’s one of the first things that attracted me to him back in our college days.
Adams played on the drum line for our university and there he learned an important concept in music that he refers to as “staying in the pocket.” Since the drummer leads the rhythm of the song, it is important that he doesn’t play ahead of the beat or behind it, but rather right in the pocket. And when he does, the other musicians can follow the pocket of rhythm and it becomes the natural resting place, making the song flow perfectly. But imagine if the drummer is playing his beat but the bass player starts doing his own thing to a different tempo. It won’t be long before the vocalist is confused and the song is completely off track.
Staying in the pocket is vital if we want to create the very best music possible.
This is an important concept for us to learn in our everyday lives as well. If we want to have this life of ours flow naturally, we have to learn how to follow the lead of the Spirit and not get ahead of Him yet not lag too far behind either. We have to stay in His perfect pocket and resist the temptation to start marching to the beat of our own drum.
David speaks of this exact thing when he says in Psalm 108:1, “My heart, O God, is stayed on You and I will make music with all my soul.”
Such is my prayer today. To be led by the Spirit, staying in the pocket, making the best music possible to my King.