What's the hold up?

Have you ever had one of those nightmares where you were being chased by a monster or a murderer or something, and you couldn’t run? As hard as you tried, you could only move really, really slow - like your feet were stuck in molasses, and your joints were too tight to move quickly. 

Or how about that dream where you were trying to defend yourself in a fistfight, but your punches were all completely powerless, doing no damage whatsoever when they connected?

Or how about the one where you have to get to the door and get out, but the door is at the end of the hallway, and the faster you run, the further the door gets, as it seems to stretch ahead infinitely?

In all those cases, there is this obvious goal that might even be life-or-death, but it was foiled by this inexplicable, debilitating resistance that prevented your action and drained you of momentum.

I think these nightmares spring from a real fear of powerlessness. In our day-to-day lives, we feel powerless to affect our environment, and in our dream life, this fear manifests as real, inexplicable, physical resistance. But while running in molasses or not being able to connect a punch or not being able to reach the end of a hallway are not real problems, sometimes our feelings of powerlessness are.

But, sometimes they are not. Sometimes we only feel powerless, and all we need is for someone we trust to tell us that we can do it. Sometimes, all we need is a word of encouragement and a little push. And sometimes we need to just hunker down and do what we know is right, regardless of the naysayers. 

Join us this week as we talk about young David and how he responded to people who said, “It can’t be done.” Meet us at 3:30 p.m., 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights.

See you then!

Pastor Ed

------------

Message title: “Why Not Me?” (David)

Main Scripture passages: 1 Samuel 17:1-51, 1 John 4:4

Questions/thoughts for group discussion or personal reflection:

• When have you stood against something you knew was wrong?
• What’s your worst recurring nightmare?
• When does something go from being courageous to crazy?