Gratitude in Stress
One of the things I took away from Uprising (the book, by E. R. McManus) is the need for gratitude in life, in my life. Right now, dealing with some pressure within and without, I really want to be grateful to the Lord, thankful that He is forcing my hand and extending an opportunity for some breakthrough, some movement forward.

this is your life / are you who you oughta be
this is your life / are you who you oughta be
this is your life / is it everything that you dreamed that it would be
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose?
- "this is your life", switchfoot

In the midst of the junk in our lives, it's hard to be thankful. Where's the freedom in being stretched and pulled? I put up with too much stress, internalizing much of it and ignoring the rest.

not giving up / not giving up now...
more than fine / more than bent on getting by
more than fine / more than just okay...
- "more than fine", switchfoot

I think about all that's going on, and I'm grateful that there might be a growing light at the end of the tunnel. Even if it's a train coming, things are forced to move forward in some way/shape/form. I'm weary of the status quo, tired of taking things as they are and being pressured outside and inside to... whatever.

I might need to re-title this post to something like "the gospel according to Switchfoot". I'm listening to "This Beautiful Mess", and the next song is "Dare You To Move" - and that's where I think I am at this point in this life. It's like I know what to do, where to go, how to proceed - but I don't dare. Where's my courage? Where's my love that's supposed to cast out fear? Am I wrong, or worse, am I afraid? If it's not fear, it's frustration, and perfect love doesn't necessarily cast out frustration.

And in the midst of it... I am utterly and undeniably grateful to God for the pressure and stress that might be finally coming to a head. It's the weirdest feeling, hard to put into words (and yet making a pretty lengthy post on the subject right now, huh?). I can rest in Him, the fact that He loves me, won't let me down, only wants my best. I can smile, maybe not as big and bright as normal, in the midst of the pressure because He will get glory as this crap plays out in our lives.
- posted by Rick @ 13:33