Are you a flicker or a flame?

We each carry a flame that we either feed or let die out. Has God risen up in your life like Mary Magdalene who couldn't contain herself when the Lord appeared to her. She joyfully ran out to tell others the good news, "He's risen!"Contrarily some of our lives, become so routine and passionless, that we wearily go through the motions of our daily activities forgetting the power available to us through Jesus' resurrected life? Is your testimony, more like a miserymony!

In Isaiah 30:21 we are told, "You will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the path, walk in it'." And in Psalm 16:11 David extols the Lord saying, "You will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy." Joy is a fruit of the spirit that keeps our flame alive. If we neglect to listen to the Lord's leading in our lives, we have wondered away from the path that leads to life and joy. That could be the first clue to why we may have a heavy spirit.

When I find myself trudging through life as a whimpering, gasping flicker without a breeze fanning my embers and no wind beneath my wings, it's time for deliberate measures. That's when I make the heavenly 911 call for a little CPR that breaths life back into the dry places and leads me onto the path of joy and a passion filled heart.

How do I do that? First, I evaluate whether or not I've gotten caught up being a Martha and need to spend some time on my knees becoming a Mary. Secondly, I evaluate if I have given room in my life for my natural heart led bent, the things that intrinsically flow from my life, releasing joy.

Thirdly, I give myself a joy assignment. I sprinkle throughout my calendar fun; be it a walk in the park, an ice cream cone in February, a lunch with a windy friend, a much needed date with my husband, service to the needy, or smell-good-flowers on my table. These are just little things that stir my heart to joy and counter any stuffy pretensions that might be tripping me up.

I believe there is nothing more foul smelling to the Lord than when we religiously withhold ourselves from life and suffer along. Sometimes we need to stand back and get a bigger picture. Are we more productive, leading a life of excellence when we are depressed, oppressed and squeezed into a tight rigid box or when we are joy filled and giggly? I know my energy is boundless when my joy is released.

It is in the Lord's presence that we get permission to be who we were designed to be. We get to be who God says we are as we listen to His voice saying, 'this is the way walk in the path I have made for you. Not your neighbor's path, not your parent's path, but your own path.'

The Lord wants our lives to reflect His glory. Every good and perfect gift is from above, so why would we withhold His goodness, keeping it at arms length, when it is available to us now? We bring a lot more to the world when our hearts are aflame; walking in the fruit of the spirit, joy! If you truly want to be happy, no one can stop you.