I'm tired
I'm worn
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes to keep on breathing
I've made mistakes
I've let my hope fail
My soul feels crushed
By the weight of this world
And I know that you can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left
Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart that's frail and torn
I want to know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
Cause I'm worn
I know I need
To lift my eyes up
But I'm too week
Life just won't let up
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/tenth+avenue+north/worn_21020180.html ]
Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart that's frail and torn
I want to know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
Cause I'm worn
And my prayers are wearing thin
I'm worn even before the day begins
I'm worn I've lost my will to fight
I'm worn so heaven so come and flood my eyes
Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart that's frail and torn
I want to know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
Yes all that's dead inside will be reborn
Though I'm worn
Yeah I'm worn
He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's ... You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you."
2 Chronicles 20:15,17
Saw a really good series of posts on "Addiction to Success." It focuses mostly on our culture's focus on having and being the best at everything. Links to the original articles (click the titles) and comments below.
Good Desire Gone Bad - Our desire for success has a nasty tendency to become a competition with brothers and sisters. Not in a healthy competition sort of way, more in a I will destroy our relationships to be better than you kind of way...
Feeding the Addiction - Chasing the high of achievement at the cost of our personal lives/inner life with God.
When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NIV) Dig Deeper: Ecclesiastes 2:4-11
Nobody Noticed - Balancing the gratification we receive from accomplishing work and being noticed by others. This one made me think a lot about one of my dear friend's favorite quotes.
Private victories lead to public victories" ~ Lon Waitman
"Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:1) Dig Deeper: Matthew 6:1-6
Missing Identity - This one was my favorite. I believe our need for constant success is ultimately just insecurity in the identity department. We, especially men, draw so much of our identities from our performance. I loved the set of questions they asked at the end.
"As weeks passed, Jon started to realize just how dependent he had been on his career to bring him a sense of satisfaction. He had come to believe something like this: If I'm seen as successful in my work, then I won't feel inadequate. I won't have fear. I won't have self-doubt. I'll be somebody. "
The Root of Identity - The grand finale. It hit on identity again. If you read nothing else, please look at the last paragraph.
Good Desire Gone Bad - Our desire for success has a nasty tendency to become a competition with brothers and sisters. Not in a healthy competition sort of way, more in a I will destroy our relationships to be better than you kind of way...
Feeding the Addiction - Chasing the high of achievement at the cost of our personal lives/inner life with God.
When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NIV) Dig Deeper: Ecclesiastes 2:4-11
Nobody Noticed - Balancing the gratification we receive from accomplishing work and being noticed by others. This one made me think a lot about one of my dear friend's favorite quotes.
Private victories lead to public victories" ~ Lon Waitman
"Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:1) Dig Deeper: Matthew 6:1-6
Missing Identity - This one was my favorite. I believe our need for constant success is ultimately just insecurity in the identity department. We, especially men, draw so much of our identities from our performance. I loved the set of questions they asked at the end.
- Do you believe that if you make mistakes, you are a failure?
- When you're criticized for your job performance, do you tend to take it personally?
- If you lost your job tomorrow, would you lose your identity? [continued 7/12]
"As weeks passed, Jon started to realize just how dependent he had been on his career to bring him a sense of satisfaction. He had come to believe something like this: If I'm seen as successful in my work, then I won't feel inadequate. I won't have fear. I won't have self-doubt. I'll be somebody. "
The Root of Identity - The grand finale. It hit on identity again. If you read nothing else, please look at the last paragraph.
Key Bible Verse: But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. (1 Peter 2:9, NCV) Dig Deeper: 1 Peter 2:9-12
Yes, you are made to do great things, and it's wonderful
to work hard. It's a blessing to use your gifts and talents. But your
worth, your value, is not based on your achievements. Letting anything
other than Christ define you will grind you down. You will always be on a
treadmill of achievement, always be haunted by the thought that you're
not doing enough.
After a lot of disappointments in the last few years I have been comparing my sources of hope to those of my spiritual heroes. There are a lot of overlays with faith but I'm trying to mostly stick to hope. Bear with me… these are the questions that I am pondering and I would love to hear feedback/thoughts. Again, these are not definitive answers, just thoughts.
- What is hope?
- Where should it come from?
- What is the hope of the modern day Christian?
- What hopes do I harbor as a modern day Cuban-American Christian?
- Do they line up with what the bible says?
Hope - "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or to desire with expectation of obtainment and in Christianity it usually applies to God's promises.
Hope is so pivotal to my well being in life. Without it my motivation dies and my heart starts asking "why try?" It's like playing in a fourth quarter of a basketball game and being 20 points down with a minute to go. This is usually called "garbage time" and the contributions made have very little meaning. Everything changes if there is a chance, a hope that the situation will turn around. In these cases no matter the odds, or difficulty, the heart rages to new heights and one incredible things are done.
Ever seen Jason Lezak's comeback in the 2008 4x100 relay? Down a body length at the start of his leg, Phelp's dream of 8 gold medals on the line, against one of the best sprinters in the world … Start at the 3 minute mark if you want to see the short version.
Hope's function is to breathe life into the heart when it wants to quit. It is the element that makes you risk it all and believe that it something can happen.
So where did awesome giants of the faith get their hope? Looking at the lives of spiritual giants like Joseph, Abraham, and David I see a few things that were true in all of their lives. There was a promise directly from God to the individual, Joseph had a dream, Abraham a promised son and an enormous family, and David a Kingdom. There was a season of testing/trials/suffering which varied in length and type. They mostly held true/faithful to God during the test and ultimately God accomplished his promise. I'll refer to the full cycle as a "God adventure. "
So does this still happen? What is the hope of the modern day Christian? I think most people would say heaven, and I don't disagree but is there a hope for here and now? Does God really have a plan for my life here on earth? It is not that the endless adventures and discoveries that await us in Heaven aren't enough (For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18). I just believe that there is a purpose for our lives here on earth.
It takes a lot to believe that God still takes us on hope/faith adventures like those in the present time. In my life I can only think of a few of these that I can honestly say were from God and went through the whole cycle. They have been both the most trying and most rewarding times. There are a lot that are being tested right now, and I'm in the dark part of the cycle were it seems that God will not come through.
If you're in the fire, keep believing, keep hoping … there's no way that our situation is a longer shot than Sarah/Abraham having their son Isaac at 90ish. If you're searching for a hope … keep asking and take it as a challenge. God wants to be more intimate with you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
- Follow Us on Twitter!
- "Join Us on Facebook!
- RSS
Contact