ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

ARE WE DRAGGING “STUFF” AROUND?  Yes, I am seriously and honestly asking that of myself – and of you.  I look inside and am keenly aware of how I feel sometimes.  I turn and cannot help but see others and the bulging backpacks they are carrying around while attempting to stand up beneath the weight.  Our backs sag and our steps get slower; the ascent of life strains at every last bit of energy that we have left.  Is this really how it was meant to be?  In the grand scheme of God’s plan for our everyday living, the answer is a loving, but reverberating “NO!”  From before the beginning of time, He saw us how we CAN be!  Running up steep mountain trails, across what seems like never-ending valleys, over slippery rocks in rushing streams – free of baggage and burdens.  We move with agility, in freedom, adeptly, with confident strides.  We move with vigor and speed when our hope is in the Lord, like the eagle that Isaiah likened us to.  He wrote in chapter 40, verse 31, that our strength would be renewed – much like an exchange of our weakness for God’s strength.  Much like a change of clothes; the taking off of our human strength and putting on Christ and His strength – wearing it even as clothing is worn.  Isaiah says that we will soar on wings like eagles!  That’s a far cry from struggling with the weight of each step, barely staying on our feet.  Again, we find ourselves invigorated and living full speed ahead, soaring over the humps and bumps of life – rather than being taken down by them!  So, do you ever ask yourself what is in your backpack?  What is weighing you down?  I receive occasional e-mails from someone I’ve never met in person, but who impacts me with the real-life application of her stories based on scripture.  She spoke of a friend of hers who runs the “deaf ministry” in the church she attends.  This particular Sunday she decided to sit in the section where he stands in front and signs everything that’s going on for the hearing impaired.  She termed it “fascinating”, as she had never really seen a person sign for more than just a few seconds.  But, she said, “watching someone sign for over an hour – and being able to actually SEE the words that you’re HEARING signed, is a totally different experience.”  What really struck Lisa during the service were some repeated phrases like … “putting the past behind me” … “in the past” … “forgetting about the past.”  She explained that every time one of these phrases came up in the message, Nathan would make this gesture that looked like he was throwing something BEHIND him and then flipping his hand up … so it was totally GONE.  Over.  Done with.  Finished.  She watched him make that little gesture over and over again.  And she felt the Spirit of God nudging her that this was like a lesson in what it actually means to put the PAST behind us.  Because on the other hand, if we were to create a physical gesture for what most of us do with “the past” it would look more like this … We’d throw the past behind us, then turn around and look at it … run toward it … pick it right back up … review it thoroughly and then repeat the process … OVER AND OVER AGAIN.  Can you relate?  Unzip your backpack and see what’s in there:  it’s all the things we hold on to that weigh us down – failures, letdowns, experiences that hurt us, disappoint us, frustrate us or make us angry or fearful.  No wonder our baggage is SO heavy!  Then, we can hardly carry it because we replay and relive and rehash all that stuff over and over and over again – sometimes MANY TIMES A DAY.  We never let it go.  And we definitely don’t put it behind us!  But, like Lisa asks, “WHAT IF we could actually do that little gesture Nathan did when he was “signing” in our REAL LIFE?  What if we could take that moment or experience from the past, throw it BEHIND US and actually LEAVE IT THERE?  How would our lives be different?”  Let’s think about this … how would our lives be different if we were no longer held prisoner by our past?  God has given us a VISUAL of what that looks like:  “To FORGET the past, LOOK FORWARD and PRESS ON.”  In Philippians chapter 3, Paul admits that he hasn’t “gotten” it all and is not perfect … but this one thing he does:  “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (verses 12-14)  You see, Paul’s goal is Christ’s goal for him – and Christ supplies the resources that make it possible for Paul – and us – to press on toward the goal!  We are able to leave the past behind us – as done with and settled!  Or we can spend our moments remembering and fixating on our past mistakes and disappointments and in turn, keep shoving more and more of that STUFF into our backpacks so we can drag them around some more.  But I want to challenge you … the next time you see yourself caught up in your past … pay attention to it.  Picture yourself holding that thought in your hand.  Wrap your fist around it.  And THROW it over your shoulder.  Now it’s GONE!  Behind you.  Never to return again … IF YOU WILL LEAVE IT THERE!  Because … let’s be honest, dear ones, like Lisa says, hasn’t your past already stolen enough of your life already?  It’s time to PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL that God has called us to!  No more looking back . . .

REMEMBER . . . “There are better things ahead ~ than any we leave behind.”  ~  C.S. Lewis

Serving Christ Joyfully  . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

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