Empty Pockets

When the Master came to spend the day with me I really wasn't prepared.  He stopped by my home and asked if we could visit.  I nodded hoping he didn't know what was in the pocket of my soul.

 

As we talked, the scenery changed to match the topic.  He told me about his love for me as we stood in the middle of some vast ocean.  We visited the Grand Canyon when he told me of his grace.  When he called me to calm in my busyness we walked on the beach of some tropical island.  We floated in the vastness of space when he brought up the topic of worshipping the Father.

 

When he asked me about what was in my pocket I found we were slouched over in a dark closet.  My feet seemed to be stuck to the floor.  The odor was bad enough that my sense of smell couldn't contain it, so it spilled over to include my sense of taste.

 

"Can we go back to the beach?" I asked.

 

"Yes, I'd love to show you more there," he relied.  "But, I need you to know this place is real and impacting all other places we visit.  I know about your pocket."

 

I reached in my pocket and pulled out fear.  It was just a handful and didn't seem like that big of a deal.

 

"Your fear that you exposed robs you of the joy of the ocean, the canyon, the beach, and the universe."

 

I waited for him to continue as I held the tarry substance in my hand.

 

"You are afraid that you aren't good enough, that your faults will be common knowledge, that your past will be discovered, that your hidden thoughts will be revealed, that what is broken can't be mended, that I am really too good to be true, and that you're missing what is real.  You travel with me, but the pocket of your soul limits the places we can go."

 

"What do I do?  No matter how far I throw it the lump seems to end up back in my pocket," I confessed.

 

"You must quit keeping it in your pocket.  Stop pretending I don't know it's there.  We can throw it as many times as it takes.  As we spend time together it will shrink and when it's smaller we can throw it so far that it won't find you again."

 

We instantly stood on the rim of an active volcano as we talked about His power.  The rumbling earth vibrated under my feet.  As I looked at the scene I felt what was in my hand start to shrink.

 

"I have a lot of places to take you this year," he said as we threw fear away again.

 

Empty Pockets,

 

Pastor Dave