X marks the spot. X is my focus. Focus long enough and press hard enough into anything and it will become my reality. Problems. Pains. Past. Predicaments. Panic. Protection. Pressures. Pleasures. Passions. Performance. Production. People. Pumping iron. Procrastinating. Poverty. Possessions. Pizza. Possibilities. Praying. Praising. My expressions reveal what has captivated me. My expressions diagnose what has become my lord and my master.
If my expressions are my heart indicators, what has captivated my heart? Take a few moments to reflect on your week. What was the central controlling thought that organized your mind, your behavior, and your schedule? What was the central feeling that was expressed through your communication with God, with yourself, and with those nearby? Where did you invest most of your mental and physical and financial and spiritual energy? If you reflect and focus long enough, you will find your heart. Who or what has become the lord of your heart? If you’re not sure, listen to the content of your words. If you’re still not sure, ask your family. They know you and what’s most important to you. They live with you.
As I have been digesting the Psalms, I’m amazed how many of David’s Psalms are expressions of his heart as he’s processing his life’s experiences. His life journal was packed full of real, raw, and relational conversations with God. He was all over the place emotionally and spiritually. He was continually crying out to God for help. I’m so glad that being a man after God’s own heart means that I can be real with God. The older I get, the more I cry out to God.
The more I press into God, the more I hear His voice. The longer I listen and linger, the more I experience His expressions. As I was outside Psalming with God, I saw the cardinals eating breakfast at my parents’ bird feeder. I heard them singing their hearts out from the tops of the trees. Then I looked up as the swallows were practicing their Sunday morning soaring praise. The blue bird kept returning to my roof top. The longer I looked and listened, I noticed different birds joining in the chorus of praise. It didn’t end after twenty minutes. It kept getting stronger and stronger after singing for an hour. Then the neighborhood dogs broke into barks, back and forth, adding hounds and shepherds and beagles with Rhonda’s dogs leading the choir. If all creation was made to praise Him, so will I.
What if all of our panicking, problems, pains, and predicaments become opportunities for God to express Himself? What if we each find creative ways to express our feelings to God? What if our pains are telling us that there’s something wrong that needs attention and God’s healing? Instead of worrying or turning to social media or video games, why not turn to the Lord—our Creator and our ever-present help in times of need? What if we open God’s Word expecting Him to express Himself in ways that we can understand to meet our most urgent felt needs? I love how David expressed himself: “…all human help is useless. With God’s help we will do mighty things, for He will trample down our foes” (Psalm 60:11-12).
In our fast-paced world of expressways, express lanes, expressos, instant messages, X-Boxes, and Google-in-a-moment whatever you need, I hear God’s call to come to Him all who tired of everything else this world has to offer. Press into Him with all of your weight. Ask Him to answer your questions. Direct your paths. Give you wisdom. Bring you help and healing. Restore what’s broken. When Jesus becomes your focus and your LORD, His expressions will become your expressions. Your expression will be what the world is looking for, and the LORD will be smiling, singing, and so proud of you. You were uniquely designed to reflect and express the Spirit of God to the world.