Keep the Fight In You

Have you ever just felt like the joy in life has been wrung out of you, like someone squeezing the water out of a sponge? You vaguely remember having enthusiasm and drive about something, but that seems like a long time ago. Maybe you've come to a point where you just sort of plod through the days in hopes that something will spark a fire in your guts again sometime. It's like the fight has been beaten out of you.

For whatever reasons, I see a lot of people everywhere I go who look like they are at or near that point. I'm something of a naive optimist, so I don't think very many people are on an active campaign to pummel the passionate commitment out of other people. Life is complicated, demands are many, and our energy can be drained in more ways than we imagine. (In my particular belief system we also accept that a negative power beyond the limits of our three-dimensional experience attacks us as well)

Without being able to identify a particular cause, my spirits seemed to be dragging early this week. The particular cause that drives me is Jesus' desire to reach and transform the lives of all people, and Jesus' command that we who are Jesus-followers join with him in this mission. When I get in these little valleys I let myself wonder if the focus and effort I'm putting into this is worth it. We had a number of pretty Spring days in our area, so I decided to ride by bike to a noon meeting. As I rode, put in my ear phones and turned on my MP3 player. It came to some live songs done by one of my favorite groups - Sonic Flood. (They're a heavy metal group that shares my particular cause, mentioned above.) I'm an aging rocker, so screaming guitar and blaring amps get my blood going anyway. Plus the driving, passionate, no-apology message of their songs reminded me of the worthiness of our cause. By the time I arrived at the meeting location, the fight in me had been restored.

Stay close to the passion that has been placed in your heart. When you feel distant from it - go back to whatever would rekindle the flame...a song, a place, a person, a book, an activity, whatever. Keep the fight in you. It's worth it. I'll see you around the next bend in the river. Paddle hard.