Brother, the world will keep piling on. It will keep telling you to 'man up' and push through. But Christ invites you to something better: to lay your burdens down, to anchor your soul in Him, to know that even if the world leaves you on the bench, He sits beside you. You may lose the applause, the trophies, even your dreams - but you will never lose yourself in Him.
Hold fast. The world needs men who know where to stand when everything else falls away. Men who can say 'I am not alone.'
Let that be your story."
Chris Harper
"You are not separate. You never were. You never could be. You're not a drop in the ocean. you're the ocean in a drop. A wave is not separate. It is THE ocean, expressing itself in temporary form. Misunderstanding this...thinking you are separate...is what creates suffering."
From "The Ancients Decoded Reality"
We have heard many times that the opposite of addiction is connection. Connection to ourselves, connection to God, and connection to other people. Addiction of any kind creates isolation. We hide. We feel not just guilt, but shame. We live in fear of getting caught. We live in a cesspool of regret. We lie, justify, and minimize. We make excuses. We lose ourselves and we don't even know who we really are anymore. And so often we think we can dig ourselves out of this black hole, but we can't. Not by ourselves. We might be able to "white knuckle" some sobriety for a while, but it won't last. It can't. This applies to all of us, not just addicts. We live in a fallen world, and we live in a fallen culture which expects us...especially men...to just suck it up and do better.
But Jesus never says, "You've got this." He says, "I've got you."
I was reminded of this as I re-watched season one of "The Chosen." In episode four we learn the story of Simon, his deep tax debt, and his sketchy plans to get himself, and his brother Andrew, out of that debt. But none of his ideas work, and the harder he tries the worse things get. He's one of those guys who thinks big, talks a good story, yet comes up short every time. He's had gambling issues and now his life seems to be crumbling around him. Have you ever experienced anything like that? Hopelessness is no fun...I know.
Simon finally tells his wife, Eden, what's been going on, and why he feels he needs to fish on Shabbat. Their conversation hit home for me, because he sounds like the classic addict, and she is the frustrated wife who just wants the truth. Eden to Simon..."At least you were honest with me. You're always trying to do everything by yourself. Where is your faith? The popular Simon - fixing everything and charming people all by yourself. That is why you're stuck and now you're off to fix it by yourself again! Maybe God can get your attention now."
Simon leaves to go fish all night. He has until the next day to have a record catch, or the Romans will come find him, and his life may be over. If he's lucky, he'll only end up in prison. He's desperate and He's scared. Angry and frustrated, and mad at God, yelling at him while on his boat in the middle of the night. Soon help does show up. His brother Andrew, John, James, and their father Zebedee, abd they help him fish the rest of the night. Nothing but empty nets.
The morning sun rises with the feelings of hopelessness and the realization that Simon has made a complete mess out of his life. He has hit rock bottom, and as Eden said, he's stuck. But we know the story, right? Jesus is there, on the shore, waiting. For him. Throw the nets over the other side, He tells them. Reluctantly, they do. And then those same nets are full. So full the boat almost capsizes. An unbelievable miracle!
But this is not a fishing story! It's a story about each of us.
I love how Jesus stands there, grinning ear to ear, as He watches the excitement, amazement, and joy of those fishermen as they strained to haul those now full nets into the boat. It's obvious that this is what brings Jesus joy...healing others. And He begins right here with Simon.
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