Rise Above Everything Bad
Wouldn’t the ability to rise above everything bad be an awesome gift? Not in a superior manner, but rather to not get bogged down in the muck and mire of negativity. Sometimes you can walk into a room and feel the tension is so thick you wish you hadn’t entered. Ever have so much going on you feel like you can’t even catch your breath? Rising above it all would be great.
Sometimes the negativity we need to rise above is ourselves. When you have too much hurt inside it can feel as if you’re stuck and unable to pull yourself out. Having to physically be in a negative workplace or home is horrible. When you live in a state of confusion, frustration, fear, or constant belittling, life can feel hopeless. Constant negative external forces can consume you to the point where you don’t even know why you feel so awful. You just know you are miserable and don’t know how to fix it.
Negativity is heavy on your mind and your body. I can remember being a kid during the winter months and not wanting to get up for school. I was tired and felt sick knowing I had a test to take or an oral report to give. Then I found out school was cancelled due to bad road conditions. Suddenly I felt wide awake, happy, healthy, and ready to get my day started. The anxiety of performing poorly affected my mind and body. Once the anxiety was gone, or in my case, delayed a day, I felt great.
Hidden Negativity
Other issues that weigh us down are feelings such as inadequacy, shame, or regret. Many people won’t share these feelings or even talk them out with a professional. These feelings just get shoved down deep and guarded so others won’t know. We don’t want anyone to know we have problems or that we’ve done something wrong.
When emotions get suppressed, they can’t just be buried and forgotten. They come out as misdirected anger, depression, nightmares, anxieties, etc. Worse, keeping all the negativity bottled up can manifest in physical forms such as high blood pressure or digestive issues. All those toxic hidden feelings just pick away and wear you down. Just because no one can see it and you don’t acknowledge it, doesn’t mean it’s gone.
Let’s use the ocean as a metaphor. Looking from the beach on a beautiful day, you see the water, some gentle waves, maybe a sailboat. What you don’t see is everything under the surface. There are shipwrecks, junk, and a lot of creatures that could easily kill you. Suppressing your feelings is like sinking into the ocean with all that stuff. You might be okay for a little while, but eventually, something will find you, or your strength will give out.
Faith to Rise
Continuing the ocean metaphor, if you’re treading water, sinking, or anchored to the sea floor, you need to rise. You need to get more than your head above water. You need to rest on something safe and solid. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2, ESV).
Many Christians believe Jesus is who He says He is, yet they lack the faith that He’ll do what He says He’ll do. Peter walked with Jesus, heard Him preach, and observed Jesus’s healings and other miracles. But when Peter asked Jesus to let him walk on water with Him, he doubted and began to sink.
This story is recorded in Matthew 14:28-31, (ESV), “And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?””
I think we all act like Peter at times. We ask Jesus for help. Jesus begins answering our prayer. Some little thing comes along, like the wind, and just like that, we forget the extent of Jesus’ power. I mean, the man was walking on top of the water! Peter thought the wind would be too much?
Rise and Shine
When we ask Jesus to come into our lives, He forgives us. He washes us clean. The debt of every sin has been paid by Jesus on the cross. Yet, we keep the guilt and shame buried inside. Jesus doesn’t want us to keep beating ourselves up for past mistakes and bad behavior. To do this is actually rejecting the forgiveness and the price paid for it.
Imagine if you spent all day making bread for a homeless person who doesn’t have any food. You happily give that person the bread. They take the bread, take a few bites, and thank you. Then they toss it on the ground and root through the trash for something to eat instead. Rooting through the trash is what they know to survive. It’s not a healthy way to survive. Plus, you just provided them with tasty and nourishing food that you prepared and gave with love. And it was rejected for an inferior method of meeting a need.
When you ask Jesus to come into your life, he reaches out his hand to pull you from the dangerous water. He forgives your sin and cleanses you so that His light will replace the darkness. Accept the full gift of salvation and rise above the water teeming with danger and past disasters. Let Him cleanse you and shine brightly in the knowledge that He is always there. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7, ESV).
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