“If we had more of his lavish life bubbling up in us, it would be a rescue in this soul-scorching hour. But this frantic, volatile world constantly wilts the soul, dries it out like a raisin, making it almost impossible to receive the life God is pouring forth. That’s called a double bind.”- John Eldredge
“You give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”- Psalm 36:8-9 (NIV)
In the Introduction (“The Rescue”) to his latest book, Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad, John Eldredge discusses two ways the madness of the moment takes our lives hostage.
- The blistering pace of life. Texting, John contends, failed to make our lives more spacious. We simply strive to keep up as we live at the speed of the ‘swipe’ and the ‘like’. Thus, even writing a single sentence feels cumbersome. And no one enjoys the pace of life we’re sucked into.
- Media comes at us in a mesmerizing digital spell. Hence, every new notification snags us. Furthermore, in the past we dealt with our individual struggles and heartbreaks. Now our mobile devices deliver the tragedies of the entire world to us instantly.
As a result, one thing got the author’s attention – what was happening to him as a person. Yet, John practiced the usual stuff – prayer, worship, scripture, sacrament. But he still felt shallow. Therefore, John elaborates on his predicament:
“Sipping God with teaspoons; not drinking great gulps; wading, not swimming. My soul felt like a shallow rain puddle. But I know that the soul isn’t a shallow puddle at all; it’s deep and vast, capable of symphonies and heroic courage. I wanted to be living from those deep places, but I felt trapped in the shoals.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you experience His lavish life bubbling up in you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Spiritual crisis, intellectual problem”
