Think about the last time you read something online that annoyed you, rattled you with such intensity that you reacted and responded rashly, or maybe you just muddled it over and over for days after. Thoughts rush in: "what an ignorant comment to make," and "how can they call themselves Christian?" or "how can they believe that garbage is true?" In fact, you can't imagine how you didn't know this "friend" felt this way.
Scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, you land upon a post from a "friend." It is outlandish, offensive and flies in complete contradiction to all your values. You react rather than reflect, and your compromised self shows up strong and powerful. Sidestepping all grace, words and gestures fly from your body quickly without much thought. Think of being overtired, hungry, distracted, or frustrated, and suddenly someone cuts you off in traffic or drops the entire carton of milk all over your paperwork sitting on the kitchen island. The thought of experiencing life as a maze is so dark and heavy compared to the contagious joyful expression of praise in the "House of the Lord." What do we have to shift in order to have more sustainable joy?Īt any given moment, you can respond in one of two ways: Either your authentic best self may show up, or your more compromised version of yourself may appear. If I could shoot up some flares and have someone lift me to safety, I'd do that." I want to stop playing and have someone rescue me. having to pivot and change directions has become tiresome. But now, hitting one detour after another. One dead-end isn't discouraging because you've only been in the maze for a short while, and you have a lot of energy to keep pressing through. There was all this adrenaline to make it through and to overcome the obstacles. In the beginning, it was a game, and we were set on winning and persevering. Someone described it to me like this: "It's been like hitting a dead end at every turn in a cornfield maze. There is a word to describe this - it is called languishing. With so many unknowns in the days ahead, hope for change is waning. Others report feeling aimless, like wandering through the day looking through a foggy window. Some are not excited to re-engage socially when given the freedom to do so.
#Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks song how to
Maybe we are having trouble concentrating or feeling stuck and unsure how to get moving again. The emotional marathon of 2020 left some of us depleted with a lingering sense of dread for the next hard thing. The most common presenting issue in my counseling office is anxiety. If we have confident assurance that our God is near, that He heals, and that He saves, why isn't joy plastered like wallpaper all over our social media platforms, filling our feeds? Because our lives are messy, complicated and we are easily prone to distraction and disappointment. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. The Lord is my strength and my shield my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. If there is joy in the House of the Lord, we should expect to experience it. In His house, we will have all that we need. We don't even have to post a comment to be and feel disturbed by what we read. Ever disagreed with a friend and then been ghosted, unfollowed or blocked? And one of the biggest dangers lurks on social media platforms-conversation threads enticing responses and disrupting contentment and joy both for the reader and the ones who post. Sometimes joy is stolen in moments when family or friends comment or question your decisions, their words laced with sarcasm, passive aggression or explicit judgment. You know the look: the judgy eyes, furrowed brows, the look of deep disapproval. There's joy in the house of the Lord todayīut, have you noticed that it doesn't take much to steal your joy? How quickly deep contentment like this can be snatched away? Slipping from your soul the moment you see "that" look from the store clerk and realize you forgot to lift your mask up to cover your nose.
Possibly, it is sunsets, sunrises or walking along the beach that does it for you the moments we feel like our most authentic selves and right there in the middle of this moment, we feel it - deep and steady as a heartbeat - joy. Maybe you glimpse joy walking along a forest trail, watching your kids play outside, or having that first-morning cup of coffee. Is there joy in your house? A joy that bubbles up, spills over, and leaves your world just right. When you experience His joy, or when you have been rescued and set free, it is hard not to shout out with joy from the mountaintops.
His presence and provision billow up and overflow from grateful hearts. Phil Wickham's House of the Lord is a celebration shouting out praise to our God who made a way for us.
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