Mire, Fire, and Rising Up

When you get a chance, you might want to listen to Ain't No Life by Pilot Speed:

I'll ask you to leave here tonight, you knew it was planned
When the world takes your heart from the fight
You do what you can
You're living here lost in the land
So brother don't force my hand
Please let's see the forest for the trees
Cos it's time to rise up;it's time to rise up from your knees

This ain't no life for us my brother
This ain't no life for us my brother
You're blind to all the colors, of the life you could discover

This house feels cold, abandoned and quiet
A son needs a warm hand to hold and home that's kind
A father who will stand in the light
*I won't watch you die inside
For a love that was lost in the mire
But it's time rise up, it's time to rise up from your knees

This ain't no life for us my brother
This ain't no life for us my brother
You're blind to all the colors of the life you could discover

The depth you've found, is a trick of the mind
Is there hope for the man whose life has let him down
There's enough of those ghosts in this town
I've seen it drag good men down
*Free up the shame in your pain
And let it rise up, let it rise up from the flame

This ain't no life for us my brother
This ain't no life for us my brother
You're blind to all the colors of the life you could discover...*These two lines are my absolute favorite of this beautiful song that draws on age-old themes.

Over 2 thousand years ago, another great musician, King David, (no, it wasn't originally Bono)said it this way:

Psalm 40:1-2 "I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings."

The following two verses may sound harsh/judgemental, remember to Whom they refer. When I think about it I'm completely okay with God judging me (and no one else) and setting me right. He might know a thing or two about me, my life, a better life.

Proverbs 17:3 "As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan, so our lives are assayed by God."

Revelation 3: 15-19 "I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

18"Here's what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that's been through the refiner's fire. Then you'll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You've gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.
Imagine being drawn in and out of the fire and still rising up! There's worth in the crucible no matter how much mire. It's a beautiful process, a beautiful result. It might take a lifetime, but it's there.