Strung out
Maui is everything everyone said it would be. I am the typical skeptic, and therefore didn't really buy into all the hype. But...it's all that and more. We came home and immediately started to surf the net to find out how we could go again. Leaving there sort of left an emotional hole in my life. The beauty of the place, the relaxation of checking out of reality, the awesome time with my wife, all that goodness and it had to come to an end. And I didn't want it to come to an end.
And I find myself depressed...wishing I was wealthy enough to just move there or visit whenever I want to. It's the same type of depression I find that I have when I go to a U2 concert. The times there are just so amazing and overwhelming that I get an emotionally high from being there and it is usually followed by a big downer. So what to do? An emptiness inside, a discontent and longing for more, a skewed perspective that needs to be adjusted.
A skewed perspective that needs to be adjusted? As I was sitting on the Maui beach hoping that the end of our time there wouldn't come too soon, I began to realize the problem I have when I have these amazing encounters. My perspective becomes hijacked by the intensity and greatness of the moment. I realized that in the U2 concerts I was awed by the power of the influencial ability (I'd love to be able to influence like that), and I realized that I was seduced by the coolness (Bono's arrogance generally defines coolness in my mind) and I find myself wishing I could have the same. The beach on Maui gave me a desire to be there all the time, wishing I had the wealth to do this, and being jealous of those who were, and I find myself wishing I could have the same.
Do you see what happened? In both cases, my perspective had shifted from God and onto whatever was emotionally stirring my heart at that moment. In it all I found that depression was the result...a wishing for something that I didn't have.
And I think this is what David must have felt like in so many of the Psalms. David got caught up in the emotion of the moment, and then found himself in a time of depression and despair. Honestly, I think we have all been there, will be there, or are there right now. And what was David's answer? In many of the Psalms we begin to see him focus once again on the great character of God. We saw him name the attributes of God's character one at a time and meditate on them. We see him walk in awe of the salvation that had been provided. We see him look with joy to the future and know all that God had planned for him in life and in death. We see him confidently talking about heaven and all that was to come. And in this, David's joy was restored; his strength was renewed. His emotions that focused on all that he couldn't have turned and focused on all that he did have in Christ.
And this is where the tires hit the pavement in Jesus being better. It is knowing that all that we have in Him is better than all we have on this earth. It is knowing that the emotional highs and lows can be brought captive under God's great wing by focusing on His character. I realized that when I let my mind become captive to all the emotional highs and lows of what I desire at the moment (which tend to remind me of all that I don't have) I need to take these and tell God about them, and then meditate on all the goodness that I have in Jesus. All Jesus' attritributes, all the control He has, all the authority He has, all the power He has, all the dominion He has, all the treasure He has, all the pleasure He has, all the future He has in store for all of us who trust in Him.
Instead of being strung out emotionally, and needing a fix...I find my fix. And my fix is not damaging to myself or anyone else around me, but is perfectly good, perfectly pleasing.
Do you have a skewed perspective? I need mine renewed all the time.