Believe

It is times like these, yes even during the holidays that oppression sets in. It is not of the Lord, and certainly Christ would never want us to live under such a heavy cloud. God gave me a vision yesterday, and I think this not only applies to me, but to those of you who are experiencing harsh times.
Here is the vision:

I saw a person who had fallen into a lake of mud. It was really more like quick sand but looked muddy. Weird I know. Anyway, that person was struggling to make their way to the top of the mud to catch a breath and see sunlight. Their movements were slow but the person was very desperate to get to the top. Anxiety flowed through them as they kept thinking "I can't breathe, this is too hard". The pressure from the mud all around them seemed unbearable, as if it was squeezing around them.
Eventually I saw this person rise to the surface, just enough to allow their mouth and nose to breath in fresh air and to see the light.

I have been pondering this vision for a while. I had to wonder why God did not just reach down and pull this hurting soul out of the miry muck. It's like this verse in Psalm 43:2 "You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?". This person was doing the best they could just to breath and not fall deeper and deeper under oppression.

I still do not know the full answer to this, but this is what I do know. God calls us to seek Him--to move towards him, even when we feel like we cannot move. Every muscle and fiber of our being is His. He can snap his fingers and any illness or burden can be lifted in an instant--he has done this before. But most of the time I believe he has called us to a higher level--a level that requires a little bit of sweat and endurance on our part. It would be easier if he just rescued us and we didn't have to do a thing, but we would never have learned anything. How did we get into that mud hole/quick-sand in the first place? What was it that drew us to it? It certainly didn't smell good or look appealing. There was work involved to get there, so there is work involved to get out of it.

What draw's us to get out of it? It's the hope and love of God--the promise of tomorrow and the healing of today.

Matthew 11:28-29
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

1 Samuel 10:18
...“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’

Psalm 9:9
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Psalm 103:6
The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Psalm 146:7
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,

Music is such a great resource to sooth the soul. We all have things going on in our lives that it is really hard to communicate. I believe music does it so well for us.


Children sleeping, snow is softly falling
Dreams are calling like bells in the distance
We were dreamers not so long ago
But one by one we all had to grow up
When it seems the magic's slipped away
We find it all again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe

Trains move quickly to their journey's end
Destinations are where we begin again
Ships go sailing far across the sea
Trusting starlight to get where they need to be
When it seems that we have lost our way
We find ourselves again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe [x4]

Just believe