It is Monday (I don’t hate Mondays), I did spend too much for Christmas, and I have undecided every decision I made last Thursday. But I’m not depressed. I am musing; however, and I’ve come up with some food for thought.
While I am not negating the strong physical chains of addiction, I have come to realize that our failure to overcome is spiritual, not physical. After all, Christ Jesus paid the price on the cross for our freedom. This most simple road to freedom is only complex because I keep forgetting that the battle is won by Someone else, and I must not, indeed CANNOT, rely on my own strength, only His. I keep saying that, but that is what I repeatedly try to do. My strength? Zero. I’m exhaustingly weak.
The preacher told a story in church yesterday about a dad arriving home to see his three young boys playing in the front yard, each of them with a baby skunk. The father jumped out of his car and yelled “Run, boys, RUN!!” They each picked up their skunk and ran as fast as they could.
I need to learn to run to Jesus, to leave the problems behind, and any problem that follows me, I need to place at the feet of Jesus and leave it there. Pride will disguise itself as truth and convince me that indeed I need to do something in my own power to shed this food addiction, but the truth is the only time I’ve ever felt this was easy was when I was giving Him all the credit and being obedient to the one thing God repeatedly told me: Get rid of the sugar. Instead of relying on my own power to do that, I need remember where my Help really is.
John Stallings penned a perfect song for what I am now trying to absorb, Learning to Lean. Here are a few of the lyrics, and a video, just in case you’re interested.
All He asks is a childlike trust
And a heart that is learning to lean
Learning to lean, learning to lean,
I’m learning to lean on Jesus
Finding more power that I’ve ever dreamed
Since I’m learning to lean on Jesus.
Because I really don't know how to fully rely on Him, I'm going to be writing more about traveling the "Leaning Road" in the next few weeks. I have a lot to learn...hopefully, I'll have a lot to share.
I have posted this several times before...
Today felt like a good day to post again:
When you get to the end of your rope,
Here are the Knots to hang on to:
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet Knot crushed;
We are perplexed, but Knot in despair;
Persecuted, but Knot forsaken;
Struck down, but Knot destroyed
—II Corinthians 4:8-9
Have a great week!
Wow. I watched the video.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I didn't think was going to like it...and wondered just how I was going to comment. I didn't like the helplessness portrayed by the Jesus character or the distance he kept when the girl reached out to him.
But then, Jesus showed up! And, of course, the enemy and his helpers were defeated. Loved that.
Jesus doesn't flutter helplessly at the outskirts of our lives--He's all in. But we can walk away, can't we? We can choose the enemy and that which damages us. He lets us choose. Hah. Putting brakes on the "preaching" that wants to well up. :}
The one thing that this video impressed on my heart was my need to choose to reach for Jesus--and not for those things that seem to feel good, but damage me instead. (Yes, talking sugar and starch here.)
At any rate, the ending of the clip was magnificent.
As far as the leaning goes...if you've been over to my blog, you've seen that I'm right there with you.
Onward and forward, girlfriend. Holding hands with Jesus down that smooth, straight path He will make for us.
Deb
The part that bothered me about the video is when they made it look so hard for her to get back to Jesus, but they may be been trying to show how much the devil will fight us. It made me cry.
DeleteYes. I was really bothered by that part, too. And I think you're right as to why it was done like that. So hard to portray by earthly means what goes on in the Spirit. I think the end message was powerful, tho. It moved me, that's for sure. I'm glad I watched it.
DeleteSomething you may not know--Jesus showed up in my life and saved me when I was putting the pieces in place to commit suicide. It was not just a thought; I was taking action. Then, there He was.
I often say that I didn't get saved to make it into heaven, I got saved to make it into tomorrow. That scene in the video where Jesus rescues the girl--that's the story of my life, girlfriend. Jesus absolutely saved me.
Oh. Blue Monday. I gave a talk about Blue Monday once at a Chamber of Commerce meeting--which was held on Blue Monday. I included everything you said about why that particular day won out on the depression scale--and added one thing you didn't.
ReplyDeleteThe over-consumption of sugar and alcohol during the holidays provides a physical feeling of depression as we come down--down would be the word--from our sugar/gluten/booze induced highs. Even if you skip the alcohol (which I do), the "rich" eating will do the job on our minds and bodies.
You'd think we'd know better, wouldn't you? Like the girl in the video, we tango with the wrong dance partner.
I didn't even think of that...but you are 100% correct. Tangoing with the wrong dance partner. That's it in a nutshell.
DeleteI saw this video a few years back and it too made me cry. It is so hard to lean on Him, yet so easy if we would just do it. I struggle with trust, give him something, take it back the next day. But its a continual learning process, which he, of course knows we are dealing with. I think penetrating our hearts with his truth and his word is a great place to start.
ReplyDeletebetty