“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17
How many times have you found yourself in the blahs or the doldrums?
Today I wanted to talk about getting back the joy, getting back to the dance, getting back to laughter and the preciousness of life. So many times we find ourselves bound by our own thoughts, in slavery to the things of this world and to our own sinful desires.
“Familiarity breeds contempt!” Have you ever heard that saying? I lived it with my entire life. I learned to live a life of secrets – to not share with others – that no one really cares about your problems – that God helps those who help themselves and the list goes on and on. Perhaps you could add your own thoughts in here; thoughts that might keep you bound in your own spiritual quietness.
We can become a slave to our own inner thoughts, not just the obvious sins that one can fall prey too. God sent His son to set us free! I believe that it is within our own minds, our own thoughts that we are bound the most. I know I fall prey to things like:
• What would other people think
• My childhood has many buried secrets
• I must meet the expectations of others
• Strive to perform or obsession to meet a specific goal
• Need for an authority figure to say they are “finally” proud of me
• Being an enabler so as not to hurt someone’s feelings
• Exhausting and putting myself last
I am learning to recognize the blahs, the depression, and the grayness as just that – a mood that I have created in my own mind. Jesus did come to set me free; He came to set us all free from whatever it is that separates us from Him and robs us of our joy. Now, when these feelings try to take hold I immediately stop, confess the sin and move on! I get over it and start to dance again. I have learned to replace in my mind the thoughts I know to be false with the things I know to be true. I find these truths in God’s word. There is nothing like the Psalms to always find something to lift my spirits and show me the truth. David was a real person with real problems, yet he loved God wholeheartedly – He was a man after God’s own heart. Lord Jesus, give me a heart like David.
David also knew how to surround himself with people he could share with – David has his Jonathon. I, too, am learning to share with others. Because in sharing with people of like mindness, they help keep me focused on the truth. My friends remind me of the forgiveness of God, they point me to the scriptures that help to bring reconciliation.
“Familiarity breeds contempt”? – Never, I find that with sharing my problems together we find solutions. God tells us in Matthew 18:19-20 that “…if two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Isn’t that beautiful? God did not intend for us to carry our burdens alone!
Let me end by sharing with you a sweet song by MercyMe, “I Can Only Imagine.” I hope you take an extra minute or two and listen to the beautiful words. I can only imagine what it will be like when I see the Lord face to face and surrounded by His glory – I hope I dance!
I Can Only Imagine
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