"Burn the Ships"

I've shared this song before, but it's worth sharing again (and I'll get around to writing about books soon, next post):  

I love this song and video.  And so do my kids.  In fact, I'd say it's one of the best ever made:

Burn the Ships by For King and Country  (Click here for where I first found it.)

This song is inspired by the wife of one of the singers who had to struggle to break free from an addiction to anti-nausea medication following pregnancy.  And it's also inspired by the story of an explorer (Cortes, I believe) who made sure that his men didn't leave him, that they didn't rebel and take the ships back to their homeland instead of exploring the new lands with him.  And he did this with a bold move: by burning the ships, making it impossible for them to retreat and go home.  And now they had no choice but to go forward into the new lands with him.  They had to put the past behind them and walk into the future.

This song's about breaking free from what holds us back, about leaving the past behind, the things that imprison us.  It's about doing what needs to be done to make retreat - defeat - impossible.  It's about starting over with a fresh start, bolding stepping into the future. 

It might be inspired by the singer's wife and her addiction to medication, but it can fit for so many of us and the things we struggle with.

May God grant us all the courage to "burn the ships," to leave the destructive, painful, shameful, fearful, sinful things behind us, to start over again filled with hope and peace and joy, walking forward with the Lord in faith.  (Oh, how I need that!)  

Is it time for you to leave the past behind, to let go of something, to say "no more?"  To take that first step into a new day? 

If so, tell it all to the Lord, ask for forgiveness, for His help, for guidance and wisdom and courage, thank Him for being a big God who is with you through everything and who holds the future in His hands ... and then burn the ships.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."  (Deut. 31:8)

“You will keep in perfect peace he whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”  (Psalm 40:1-2)

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.  He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains."  (Psalm 107:13-14)

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”   (Isaiah 40:31)

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"  (Lamentations 3:22-24)

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:13)

“Be still and know that I am God.”  (Psalm 46:10)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)