Dance or Sing

Read: Ezra 3
“12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house [Solomon’s temple], when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, though many shouted aloud for joy.” Ezra 3:12

Examine:
There were two groups of people standing on the hill that day. One group forgot the past and danced with joy over what God was doing in the present. The other group was caught up in what once was, what could have been, and what all was left to do. One group sang while the other cried.

Apply:
Letting go of the past is essential to moving forward with the future. There are three things essential to doing this. First, I have to let go of what once was. No matter how hard I long for something I lost I can never go back. I am where I am not where I was. It is really senseless to long for the past.

I also have to stop thinking about what could have been. As I mature and reflect back over my journey it is easy to morn the loss of time. I have made some massive failures and there are nights when it is tormenting to consider where my life would be if I had only listened to God. It is what it is. Spending energy lamenting over opportunity lost is ridiculous.

Finally, I can’t become fixated on what all is left ahead of me. I hate to rebuild anything. It just seems like a total waste. Here is the insanity of this; the Christian life is always about rebuilding. ALWAYS! I am in the process of growing and learning. I will fall down; I will start over a lot. My pride hates this become it means admitting failure. Failure is not an enemy; the denial of it is.

Pray:
Most all of my anger, depression, and frustration in life are tied to these three things. My fixation on the past and future always comes at the cost of the present. The present is a precious gift yet I lose it almost every day.

You know where I am, the hurts I carry from the past, and the weight I feel about the future. You know that I have not forgotten what lies behind and I do not press forward towards the prize ahead. You and I both know that my life, in regards to this, is not in alignment with Your scripture and I acknowledge to You today that this is the source of almost all of my pain.

The problem with dysfunctional behavior is that it becomes sickly addictive and in a strange way comforting. It is hard to stop it. Please help me help myself. I do not want to lose this day to things that are not valuable. The gift of today is an amazing blessing. While I can’t change anything about my past and there is nothing I can do about the future I can choose to dance and sing over the blessings of today. That is my desire and my only request. Open my eyes today to fully see the abundance You have set before me today.