Went running for about 30 (minutes not miles…or was it years) before I realized that I had been listening to the same song the whole time.  How could I have missed this?  The haunting, beautiful melody was the background and mood setter for the run, but why didn’t I determine earlier it was the same melody over and over again?

Then I looked and realized the “Repeat” feature was selected….to keep repeating the song same.  I turned off repeat and was glad to move on to the next song.  This experience made me start thinking through some of these questions…

Do you get stuck on certain things?   Bad habits, unhealthy patterns of behavior, wrong thinking…things that hold you down and back from the life you were created to live with and for Him.

Do you even realize that you are stuck?  Often times your “stuckness” can be more evident to others than it is to you.  Are you so used to something being a certain way for so long that you don’t realize it could be better?

Do you replay your hurts over and over?  Do you hold grudges and run in circles of resentment?

Do you fear the next song, the next chapter, what might come next?

Turn off repeat and see what comes; ask God for wisdom and bravery to take the next step as He leads you forth.

I was listening to the Gladiator soundtrack during this muddy run.  The first song is “Progeny”…it has lovely instrumentation and I was enjoying it (over and over).  Then after I turned repeat off I finally heard the second song, “The Wheat”.  This song is beautiful in a different way, more mysterious and exciting….then shortly after comes, “The Battle”…and words can’t accurately describe the emotions that song stirs up.  Listen to it if you haven’t before.

I am so glad I didn’t miss the wheat…I don’t want to miss the wheat- growth that comes as I lay down these hangups and keep growing, look to Him- fix eyes on Him to get me unstuck…to stop replaying the anger, the bitterness and let Him do what does best- forgive, restore, hold accountable, set free…


John 12:24  “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels–a plentiful harvest of new lives.”

“The Battle”… a call to action, to bravery, to resolve to embrace the adventure just around the corner.  A melting of sounds and tempos…then at long last the breathtaking, powerful theme of the movie surfaces and makes you want to run, to fly, to fight, to be all you are supposed to be.

Let’s choose to get out of the mud today and go to the next song, mysterious and life-giving.

Galatians 5:1  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” 

The song below is lengthy but so good…the end is the best, I love celebratory Celtic music!   We sang this at church yesterday.  May you worship Jesus as you listen to it and thank Him for His freedom and ability to get your unstuck and moving on to what He has next,  “Lord our eyes are fixed on You and we are waiting for Your garland of grace as we praise Your Name”.