Wonderful Misery

Reprinted in full:

"Once upon a time there lived a sea lion who had lost the sea. He lived in a country known as the barren lands. High on a plateau, far from any coast, it was a place so dry and dusty that it could only be called a desert. A kind of coarse grass grew in patches here and there, and a few trees were scattered across the horizon. But mostly, it was dust. And sometimes wind, which together make one very thirsty. Of course, it must seem strange to you that such a beautiful creature should wind up in a desert at all. He was, after all, a sea lion. But things like this do happen.

How the sea lion came to the barren lands, no one could remember. It all seemed so very long ago. So long, in fact, it appeared as though he had always been there. Not that he belonged in such an arid place. How could that be? He was, after all, a sea lion. But as you know, once you have lived so long in a certain spot, no matter how odd, you come to think of it as home."

John Eldridge begins his book "The Journey of Desire" with this little story. A few pages later, he paints a picture of a king who has been captured and taken into exile. He asks, should a king in exile pretend he is happy? Should he not seek his own country? And then he says something incredibly profound... something that I think sets up the premise of the entire book (although I've only read the first chapter - so I could be way off base). He says, "His miseries are his ally, they urge him on."

I love that phrase and that idea of allying with our miseries - of allowing our discontents to urge us forward. I don't know about you - but I know there have been seasons in my life where I have settled for the "barren lands." And it's amazing how quickly it can develop into a home and how difficult it becomes to leave.

Take a moment and ask yourself - have you settled into any barren lands? If so - let me encourage you to grow a little discontent... or a LOT discontent. Do your best to feed your miseries. They can be a wonderful ally.

Pastor Curtis Mulder is the Worship Arts pastor at newhope Church in Chapel Hill, NC