Bungee Cords

                One of the greatest inventions to ever be developed is the bungee cord.  In the right hands, a bungee cord can hold an entire house worth of furniture in a pickup truck.  They are designed to be short until they are stretched out to the desired length and then they hold tension.  Just be careful when stretching one out.  The recoil of one can hit you pretty hard and can cause injury.

                The problem with bungee cords is that they also tie us to our old life after we accept Christ.  I can’t count the number of times that I feel like I escaped my old self only to have the bungee cord stretch out to the breaking point only to have it snap back and drag me right back.  There is always that one trigger, be it an old friend or a vice, that makes your cord recoil and brings your old self right back out.  And just like getting hit with a cord, your old self usually hits you hard and hurts.  Sometimes, even to the point of wanting to turn away from God and not having to worry about being snapped back. 

                There is only one way to deal with the bungee cords that bind us to our old selves.  Romans 8 verses 5-6 give us the answer we need.  It states, “5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death.  But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”  So in order to break free from life’s bungee cords is as simple as staying focused on the Holy Spirit.  When you are constantly focusing on Christ, you don’t have time to allow your thoughts to go back on your life.

                I know that simple answer is too simple in the world today.  With all the stress of jobs, spouses, the 2.5 kids, and all the other demands we are expected to maintain, there is no way that we can always focus on Christ.  On the same token, we shouldn’t make Him an afterthought and then expect Him to remove our stress.  Everyone, even the pastors of churches, have times when we think that our stress is more than we can deal with.  We start worrying about how we can handle our issues and this starts the tightening of the bungee cords.  We forget to focus on Christ and rely on Him to give us a way out.  But as soon as our focus turns from the problems back to Christ, the cords release their hold on us.  So yes the simple answer of focusing on Christ still breaks the ties that bind us and take us back to our old sinful ways.  God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Do you have any bungee cords that tie you to your old self?  Are you ready to severe those ties? 

                God I pray right now that you break the ties that bind us to our old selves.  Lord I ask that you remind us when we allow our sinful thoughts to creep back in that you are still in charge and we should solely focus on You.  You alone can make our old self seem like a memory that we no longer have a desire to return to.  Lord I pray for anyone right now that feels like they are caught in a pit of despair of their old life.  I pray that you redirect their thinking and give them the desire to refocus on You.  I pray this is the precious name of Jesus. Amen