Limbo (Fantasy vs Reality part 2)

     Ok, so now the fantasy is over.  You have found freedom from your stronghold.  You have been delivered from that which has tormented you.  What do you do now? Or better yet, how do you live now?  This crutch, this fantasy, this escape was something that afflicted you and kept you from being in the present, good and perfect will of your Father.  But it if you are completely honest, for some of us that stronghold motivated you.  It gave you energy, strength, courage and/or power to do and go places that excited you, even if it was just in the confines of your heart and mind.  Maybe you were a different person in this place.  Someone brave and better looking.  Smart and witty.  Fun and exciting.  Strong and brave.  Someone who commanded attention.  Or someone who was just deeply and truly loved.  That's what it all comes down to doesn't?  Love.  We all want it.  We all crave it.  We all need it.  The truth of the matter is, we were CREATED for it.  So who can blame you right?  Those who were meant to love you failed to do so, so you sought to get that which you were created to have, else where.

     More often than not good things like affection, sex, attention, intense passion and desire are mistaken for love.  But love isn't confined to a noun or a feeling.  Love is all encompassing.  It fills you, never leaving you to feel like your missing something.  When you get a taste of true love you may want, need and crave more but it will never leave you with a sense of lack.  When we have intimacy with God there is a deep satisfaction.  A realization of completion.  A filling.

     But now that you have been filled and redirected to true love, how do you now practically live in the life/pain you were trying to escape from.  We have to have tools, coping mechanisms, support systems in place and new behaviors have to be developed in order to maintain our freedom.  Otherwise, as creatures of habbit, as soon as the first sign of trouble hits we will revert back to our old behavior.  Not because we necessarily want to and definitely not because our freedom is a farce.  But because it is all we know.  Someone once said, "When we know better, we do better." and that's the God's honest truth.  Scripture says, Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).  How do we renew our minds you ask.  We renew our minds by the reading of God's word.  Unlike the ever changing trends of our world the truth of the Bible is "alive and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

     A submitted life to God, prayer and scripture memory are some of the best tools to keep your thoughts pure and your hands clean.  Will we struggle, yes.  Will we stumble, yes.  Will we fall again, indefinitely.  Why?  Because we are only made of dust.  But God is faithful and will complete the good work that he began in us until Christ returns (Phillipians 1:6).  Surrounding yourself with godly, like minded people is a another way to ensure you stay on the right track.  Those who know and understand your struggle can support and encourage you when times get tough and you get that itch to pick up that crutch. This support system can be a friend, family member, mentor or even a professional counselor.  Developing new habits is also essential.  Maybe you need to change your circle of friends, find a new television show to watch, find a new hangout spot, change the type of music you listen to and/or install a blocker on your computer and/or other devices.  Who or whatever it is that cause you to fall back into this bondage lifestyle needs to be replaced with thoughts, beliefs and behaviors that bring peace, joy and abundant life.

     For each of us this formula may look different but the result is still the same. Freedom, even in the darkness.  Because tough times will surely come but at least we have the comfort of knowing that we do not face them alone.  God is always with us. In and out of the darkness. . .


                                                                                                             -Sarabeth