Dare You to Move

I've been listening to this song for years, & for quite some time before I ever took notice of the spiritual meaning behind the lyrics.  It's been on my iPod for a LONG time, but rarely listened to.  However, nowadays, I love the spiritual subtleties in Switchfoot's music.  There's a greater purpose in that and I love it.  This morning Dare You to Move played while I was in the shower, and even though I've heard it hundreds of times (even recently), the lyrics spoke to me in a profoundly different way today.  The Holy Spirit has been with me all morning, so I shouldn't have been surprised by this sudden spring of inspiration, but I was.  Bear with me as I humbly summarize my thoughts on some of the lyrics, and then hopefully, it will bring the rest in to focus.  Mind you, those same spiritual subtleties that I so love also leave room for multiple interpretations, and I think that's what makes it so beautiful.  You can relate it to the Bible, you can relate it to life on earth, as a believer or non-believer.

For me, this entire song is about the battle between living for the world or living for something GREATER.  It is about coming to the altar and making a choice.  It's about a beautiful awakening.  Do we choose the promise of eternal life, or to simply exist? Kneeling before the Lord, do we dare get up and move?  Can you stand up and refuse a life full of perfect, awesome promises; a life of surrender to Him?  I dare you to move...
 I choose Him.  I surrender.  And then, "what happens next?" 
"Welcome to the fallout" ...Oh the fallout.  We must give up our worldly desires and know that we will face persecution in the process.  "Welcome to resistance" ...my biggest struggle.  There is a spiritual battle between resisting the temptations of the world and living a life that is pleasing to God. Have you found your strength in Him to endure the fight?  Can you remove yourself from being accepted in the world for what your Heavenly Father tells you is right and good?  Do you feel the tension between the sinful nature you've known so long and the person Christ is calling you to be?  It is time to relay who you are to who you could be.  Do you feel the strain "between how it is and how it should be?"  I live here right now... and I don't want to get stuck, I want to move.
I dare you to move...
And suddenly the meaning of the chorus changes for me.  He dares me to move.  A challenge to get up off the floor and live this brilliant life he has laid out for the taking.  To have faith and become exactly who He always meant me to be.   He is challenging me to get up and move for Him, even when others aren't.  Even when they will judge me for it.

Once you come to the Lord, you are forever changed.  You can't go backwards, you can't un-know the truth.  You can't pretend it never happened.  He is the light, the only way.  So, it's time to move forward and accept these gifts.  There is so much beauty and hope, wonder and awe... meaning, purpose, and love with our Father... "where you gonna go?"  He is the only answer.  Forgiveness, redemption, salvation... with Him, they are yours.  

~and now that I'm on the verge of some big tears~

Be confident that He works only for your good, and that He will continue that work your whole life through.  Remember that your past is a part of your history, a part of your testimony.  You can't throw it away.  But it doesn't have to matter so much anymore.  In Him, you are made new.  You get to begin all over and be who He calls you to be.  If that's not powerful, I don't know what is.  

I have seen God's blessings rain on me exponentially recently.  I have felt the Spirit near to me more often than I could have ever imagined.  I hear His calls, I feel His love.  And yet, the resistance and tension were, quite possibly, more present than ever.  I called out to the Lord for understanding.  I knew He was working for me in great ways, I knew it.  But I couldn't see the bigger picture.  I was disbelieving of what He was showing me.  I was doubting His plan for me.  I asked Him to show me.  Please, just show me again.  
And then I heard his whisper.  And I doubted, still.  For, His bigger picture was bigger and more meaningful than I had originally thought.  But I heard it again... and then I saw it, clearly and concisely.  And while I still have questions, I am at peace knowing I am not meant to understand it all.  I am only meant to follow where He leads.  He has a given me a glimpse of what our walk together is purposed for.  That's all I need.  
So, yes, let it begin...