Feeling Tense

Tension is often thought of in negative terms as conflict between people or extremely tough

circumstances that cause stress. While this isn't inaccurate, it also doesn't portray the positive aspects of tension. In a practical sense, we have to have some amount of tension to grow. There has to be a gap between where we are and where we want to be so that we are motivated to grow. This tension pulls us to succeed and sharpens us in the process of developing us into better people.

I look at the man that I used to be, the man that I am today, and the man that I want to be to get a complete picture of my growth & my desires for the future. It's a positive reflective practice to see how much I have grown, but looking ahead encourages me to disregard complacency and push ahead to increase my maturity. It's the tension of my present reality against the desire for my future that keeps me moving, evaluating, and growing.

Two Worlds

I have to admit to a guilty pleasure. Probably at least once a month I go to YouTube and listen to David Phelps from Gaither ministries sing the song, "No More Night." It's a style of music that doesn't appeal to everyone & isn't something I listen to any other time. There is something captivating about this particular song however, that keeps me coming back to it. Part of the attraction is in Phelps' voice--it is one of the most pure and powerful voices I have ever heard--and I am a music geek that finds tremendous pleasure in harmonies & melodies.

It's not just an appreciation of talent that keeps me coming back to this song though. It's the depth in the lyrics that resonates with my soul. It reinforces a tension that I regularly feel--that we are made for more than just this world and moment. We are incomplete here--even in this world's joys & pleasures created by God. This world is merely a reflection of something better and perfect and our best moments here will be wisps of memory when we achieve perfection in Heaven. Meditating on this song and the promise of a better realm creates feelings of longing and provides comfort when this journey becomes weary. It can be a bright light when things seem dark or when I simply need encouragement to keep pushing through difficult times with the hope of a better day.

Feeling Tense

Our lives are filled with tension and not just the angry, "I didn't get my way so I'm going to take my ball and go home" kind of tension either. It's a conflict that we have due to the gaps in lives. It's a realization that there is a distance between the reality of our relationships, expectations, finances and spirituality and where they could, would or should be.

It's the gap between where we are right now and where we thought we would be. A distance between the needs of your spouse and what you are providing to meet them. A chasm in the expectations of your boss and what you feel you are capable of doing. A gap in where your finances are currently and the anxiety you feel in trying to make it better. Tension you try to manage as the parent you want to be so that your children will grow into all that God has planned for them. The space between where your career is right now and what you dreamed it would be.

At the core of all of this conflict is the tension within our spirit. This is the pull that we feel from the Holy Spirit and the distance that we can see (if our eyes are opened) from who we are and who God truly wants us to be.

Managing all this tension in our life can be exhausting.

If we would focus on the one gap that matters most-allowing our spirit to be transformed by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis-I would wager that the other tensions in life would start to fall in line at the same time.