Swimming Upstream





What makes me feel good about myself? That often depends on my spiritual thermostat.

 When I distance myself from God, the things that begin to matter most to me are the things furthest from Him. Superficial offerings entrap my heart and consume my mind. I begin to believe marketing slogans such as, “Because I’m worth it” and “Have it your way” – created for the sole purpose of enticement. The goal, of course, is to make us believe that we need those things in order to look and feel great. When we place high value on material things rather than on things that really matter like relationships, our demise is exponential on the downside and we begin teetering on the brink of spiritual destruction from within.

When we presume upon God’s grace we become desensitized, thinking that because He is gracious, we now have a license to sin. This is most dangerous and exactly why King David prayed, “Keep your servant also from presumptuous sin; may it not have dominion over me!” (Psalm 19:13). The conscience, our built-in warning mechanism, can be ignored more and more to the point where we no longer feel the conviction of sin, "having our conscience seared as with a hot iron." (1Timothy 4:2) We are scarred, branded by our sin, and without remorse.

The watching world sees us compromise and labels us as hypocrites. Mahatma Gandhi expressed it this way: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”.
But as I draw closer to Jesus, His voice is less muffled by the "noise" and I hear Him beckoning me back. I find myself mourning over my sin, wanting nothing other than to feel His gentle hand upon me. I want to bask in His love and forgiveness, and set out with renewed focus.


There's a reason why I'm here and it's not to go along with the status quo, living a mediocre life. I want to make a difference within my own little area of influence. Navigating through murky water can be tricky, but then again, any dead fish can swim downstream!

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