Get Me Out Of The Box

Life is a highway...yes...but it is also a valley, and some of life is spent, not out upon the broad highway where life is smooth, but down deep in the valley. So much of life seems to be on a trail that is hemmed in, overshadowed, and overwhelming. Many times, you are not on top of things, but way down in the valley.

One gentleman asked a friend, “How are things going?” And the friend replied, “Well, things are looking up! You see, when you’re down in the hole as far as I am, that’s the only way you can look...is up!”

Yes, it’s better to look up than down. Although I did hear about a man who made a practice of looking down. In 40 years, as he walked along, he picked up 34,947 buttons, 54,712 pins, and 1100 pennies. But he also got a bent back, and a bad disposition. During that time, he failed to see the glory of the sun, the smiles of his friends, and the beauties of nature. He also lost many chances to serve his fellow men.

But there are some who neither look up or down...they look in. They are scared, ingrown, and afraid of the terror of the day, and the panic of the night. This is not living, but dying, when I allow myself to be like this. I am really in the process of dying, when I should be living.

Several years ago, a fascinating record was released called, “For Heaven’s Sake.” One of the songs on that record went like this:

Get me out of the box...Get me out of the box
Somewhere, there’s a key that surely unlocks.
I’m choking to death
I’ve gotta have air.
But there’s strangers out there!
Outside is the world...and the world is so wide
I want to get out...but it’s much too cold outside
I’m too young to die...with so much to give
I want to get out...but out there I’ve got to live!
And I’m warm in the box...safe from harm in the box
Free of grief in the box...Such relief in the box
So, I hide from the world
And, I stay snugly curled...In my little box!

Unfortunately, there are many persons who are doing just that. They are hiding from life. They are in a “box condition.” But Jesus Christ, and the “Good News” of the Gospel says, “You can’t find life in a box!” We must get up and walk through the valley. Sure, it’s hard out there, and there’s pain, and trial and tribulation...but God is out there too. Lose yourself in it, and you will find yourself. As the Scriptures say, “God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (II Tim. 1:7)

As you walk through the valley, you are not alone. God is behind you, and before you, above you, and around you. J Perhaps you need to remember...you can’t get away from God. If you’re trying to hide, he’ll hound you. If you’re trying hard to die, he’ll tempt you with life. And if you’re trying to walk through the valley, He’ll go with you all the way.