As the pressures mount form all sides, I realize that a siege is underway. While I do not believe the forces are coordinated, it does feel like it is. From every direction there is a force demanding something from me or trying to force me into one action or another. Any action that reduces the pressure form one point increases it from another. The least painful answer is to simply stop moving. By any other name, this is a siege! The forces feel like evil. They demand my heart. They seek to rob me of my freedom. Even if this is not their goal, their actions are tearing the fabric of my heart.
As I talk with others, I am reminded that my situation is all too common. Everyone has at least one siege underway in her/his life. Even in the best of days, there is a battle going on in at least one corner. Warfare, battles, and pain seem to go hand in hand with living.
I find it helpful to know that others have successfully met the challenge before me. One wisdom father, David, repeatedly cried out; “God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery: ‘Hah! No help for him from God!’” (Psalm 3.1, 2) He repeatedly faced overwhelming sieges, often as a result of his choices and actions, and somehow, someway he moved forward in his life.
Others remind me that regardless of how a siege feels, I still have the freedom within me to act. Freedom is God’s gift to you and me. It cannot be taken away. We can lose sight of it, yet it is still where it has always been.
With a fresh day, new opportunities emerge. The battles and pressure points remain, as does my freedom to choose. In the chaos of life, today is our opportunity to make a difference. For others and especially for our souls, we have decisions to make, actions to take. I hope you see possibilities – they are beautiful, even in life’s ashes.
