Step Up

Emotional pain is one thing I think a lot about. Its very interesting, the way it acts and the purpose it serves. I've talked about it before, and I'm gonna talk about it again. This is a call to action.

In our homes, pain exists. You would be so very surprised at the weight a home can bear. The house not only withstands physical ailment and calamity, but also bears the weight of burden. Your children HURT. Your spouse HURTS. Fake smiles are donned every day, because if everyone thinks they are happy, perhaps they will think they'll be happy too. This brings temporary relief. Pain will fester and grow when left in the dark corners of our lives; and a smile hides it behind closed doors all too easily. The pain we feel when we interact with this cold, dark world, is brought home where it infects the atmosphere into what should be a dwelling place of LIGHT. Light heartedness. A dwelling place for Jesus. And as soon as the pain becomes too much for each individual to bear, bad decisions are made. Arguements start, rebellions start, and hard-heartedness starts. 

STEP UP, men and women of God! Don't focus on your own sorrow and worry; JESUS holds that! Carry your burden faithfully to Jesus, and He will relieve it. And once you have been released, TAKE ON THE BURDEN OF YOUR FAMILY. Listen to the outpouring of a heart! Look past your own selfish pain! PAIN IS SELFISH. It generates pride; all you can think of is how YOU hurt so bad and how sorry YOU are for YOURSELF. This is a slap in the face. WAKE UP. STEP UP. Look around you; darkness has not only infected you, it has spread to those around you. Your fatigue is NO EXCUSE. Your anger has NO EXCUSE. God promises REST to those who SEEK HIM. Start SEEKING!!

Oftentimes, our deeprooted pain can come to the surface in an instant. Before starting a dating relationship, and especially a marriage, with someone, KNOW THEIR PAST. Seek to heal them. Because if you don't, I can guarantee their past will hurt you BOTH. When you commit your life to another, YOU assume responsibility for the OTHER's pain, actions, and beliefs. You TWO become ONE. Our past pain will rear its head when you are down on the ground. When you're guard is down, past pain draws its sword and cuts off all ties you thought you had. Pain is a WEAPON of the Enemy. And ya know what? There is a way out! But you worship your pain! TURN TO JESUS! He offers healing, but you must ACCEPT it! This is a call to action! Run to Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals. Exhort, beg, plead with your partner to follow you to the wellspring of life! Once both your pasts are clean of pain, and God has your burden, you have eliminated half the hardship you two will face. ALWAYS seek Jesus.

Look around you! ETERNAL SOULS pass you by! Pained souls who have been BLINDED to the healing offered them drudge on! They have become specters; no longer capable of life. They must be BORN AGAIN! Bring them to Jesus; love them to Life! Tell them of their wretchedness, show them God's awesomeness! LOVE OTHERS! This world is TOO DARK to lash out because of your hurt. You have no excuse. You know Jesus. They? They do NOT know Jesus. They HAVE excuse. Let Him HEAL you, bring them to HIM for His HEALING. Emotional pain will DESTROY, but Love destroys even more. Love breaks down walls much more effectively than an atom bomb. Look around you! Seek the hurting, the broken, the least of these! They are pressing in around you, seeking the source of your joy! And yet you selfishly neglect to offer them the ONLY source of peace and healing! DROP YOUR NETS. FOLLOW JESUS.

This is a slap in the face. It should be. I don't write like this often, but I am SICKENED by the way I am surrounded by hurting people I neglect. I am as guilty as anyone. I am slapped by the words God throws on this page through me. This is a call to action. LOVE. HEAL. Speak LIFE. Life is too short to NOT seek others out. To show them healing. Your selfish behavior is FINISHED. Its GONE. Jesus has SAVED you from your past. You are HEALED. You are SELFLESS. Why do you act like the old man! BEHOLD, you are made NEW! STEP UP, men and women of God! The pain that ravages our country seeks to overcome! WE CANNOT let this happen! Our light PIERCES the darkness... START SHINING. Be a beacon of hope to those who NEED JESUS. Be a reflection of Jesus; lead others to HIM. He heals. You cannot. You are weak; He is STRONG.

Stop trying to heal yourself in your own strength. God is healer; you are SUBJECT to His healing! You cannot fix you, I cannot fix you, the needle, the bottle, the prostitute cannot fix you. This is a call to action! Step up; embrace the LIFE given through Christ! YOUR PAIN NO LONGER HOLDS YOU! Those chains have dropped off your wrists; yet you stare at the floor of your cell and WAIL because the chains are attached to THE FLOOR! YOU ARE NO LONGER BOUND! And yet you WORSHIP your pain. NO! Worship your GOD, who KNOWS your pain! LOOK UP! Your wrists are free, because His are scarred! Walk out of that cell, run to His arms! Embrace the ADOPTION, the COMMISSION, the SURRENDER He asks of us! Know peace; know Jesus! Love with ABANDON; for tomorrow may NEVER come. The helpless are drawn in swarms towards the Light; do not be so SELFISH as to DENY them their PRIVELAGE. God offers a free gift, and YOU stand in the way. LOVE; don't hate. Love fulfills the law; God is love; emulate Jesus in your love! 

You are not despicable, you are beautiful. Your pain blinds you. You are not wretched, you are forgiven. Your fear blinds you. Take off the blinders. See JESUS before you. Take the blinders off another; show them JESUS before them. This is a call to action. Run to Healer, THEN run to show others Healer! If you wallow in your pain, you are selfish. If you do not present Jesus to those who need Him, you are selfish. Abandon your self-serving ways, and follow Jesus. Live it like Jesus. This is a slap in the face; this is a call to action.