A sincere music lover once ran into the great composer, Johannes Brahms. When he recognized him he said, “Master, would you please write here a small portion of a masterpiece and sign it so that I can have a precious memory of this fortunate encounter?” Brahms took the pencil and paper and scribbled the opening bars of “The Blue Danube,” which, of course, was written not by him but by Johann Strauss. And then he signed it with these words: “Unfortunately not by me! Johannes Brahms.”
Brahms took the opportunity to direct the praise to someone other than himself, which is just what we have been called to. We are to work at directing praise away from ourselves to God and all the great things that He has done. One reason you may not be experiencing more of the presence and the power of God in your life is because you have not been willing to humble yourself. You have not learned the joy of being content to simply stand in the shadows and give all the praise and glory to God.