The way out of despair
This morning (the day I was inspired to write this article) I woke up with the usual thoughts of someone who has several things to sort out, not only financial but practical ones too.
Mortgages, a house to sell, a house to buy, makeshift accommodation, renovation work, expenses to face, expenses to rework, a punctured tyre still not repaired, the builder on his way, furniture to assemble next week, no fridge, a kitchen that still doesn't exist, more sandwiches to eat before I see a good plate of legumes to flush out all the carbs I've piled up on my body.
More or less these were the SiMpLe thoughts that said good morning to me today. I had a block in my mind because I didn't know what to do first and how to get through all these things in order, to make my day smoother and less of a mess than my thousand thoughts were predicting.
Before getting out of bed I was thinking about writer's block, about the songwriter who couldn't compose, the poet who had no more inspiration. I realised that this too is actually a lie: there is no block in people, only a state of being that won't let you go further. If this morning I had got out of bed shut inside my thoughts, I would have stayed in my prison. Better still, I would have imprisoned myself.
It is also true that when you have situations to solve, your thoughts involuntarily imprison you and the responsibility of getting them done devastates you.
I gathered my thoughts, set them aside for a moment and got up to make coffee. I have my ritual for making coffee because, after all, I know the machine, so it has become almost a technique with very precise moves. Meanwhile I had a little snack to enjoy the hot coffee properly. The thoughts had stayed right where I had gathered them. I went to the bathroom and as soon as I opened my phone this appeared: Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already, you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there. A verse from the book of Isaiah, chapter 43. You know when an unexpected answer comes to a question you had in your head? Well, that was my answer. I had the answer to the block of the writer, the poet, the songwriter. The mind is the alley our life passes through; if we jam it, we won't be able to move anymore and it will be hard to get things flowing again.
One thing is certain: we become the traffic wardens of this alley, and if we don't get good at managing it, a traffic jam will always be just around the corner. God may or may not have a place in our lives, but the freedom we have is given by our mind. If we free it from jamming thoughts, then we can let good things work. Obviously I'm not telling you to do yoga, because there's no need to empty the mind; we must always stay alert, but we must know that by clearing the alley, the good that is already prepared for us can flow too. So lift your eyes, aim towards the One who is already preparing that work you can't see yet, and begin your work. There is a prince of the air (Satan) who influences our thoughts, but there is a God, above all this, who like a purifier cleanses the oxygen that reaches our brain. It is no coincidence that God is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I wonder why?
It is not meant to be a religious concept, but how many times have our thoughts influenced our mind, and our anger made us declare things with faith? If you think faith is only religious faith, you're wrong. Faith is also the faith of the tongue. The tongue is like the rudder of a big ship (it is written in the Bible): although small, it can steer such a large ship. Think that the tongue can be used both to offend and to defend; it is like a weapon you use to kill but also to defend. An angry tongue kills, a happy tongue builds up. Think again: what if the tongue, in a moment of anger, declared a wall of defence against the attack you are suffering? It would be wonderful to know you are safe. And in reality it is so. The faith of your tongue builds up or destroys, and it is the same faith you use to call Christ into your life to help you.
So, going back: you have a problem or a situation to solve, the way gets jammed, you call for a wall of defence with the faith of your tongue, with that same faith you call on Christ to free your life and He does it; you call on Him for life, He clears the way and you find that it works, so it is truth. The way, the truth and the life.
It's not just this, there's so much more, but today this is probably what was needed.
Inspired by the verse:
Isaiah 43:19
Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already, you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.