We are all a little bit restless. I’m sure you have felt that way in your life. You’re not satisfied! You want more. It’s easy to take that feeling and channel it into shopping! You feel temporarily satisfied when you get new things whether that is clothes or a humungous sound system that would better fit in a movie theater than your living room. And buying has never been easier!
Alternatively, we pursue a career with single-minded, almost superhuman determination in an attempt to eradicate that restless feeling that doesn’t go away even when you get to the point that technically speaking you have everything. I am reminded of Greg Baer’s story in the book “Real Love.”
Why do we struggle with restlessness?
I’ve watched some of Greg’s videos on his website reallove.com. His life looked successful on the outside. He was a famous eye surgeon; he was married with children and had all the 
toys a man could wish for, but slowly his life unraveled as he slipped into drug abuse and experienced a complete emotional and relational breakdown. He candidly describes how he felt restless. He couldn’t figure out why he felt this way. He seemingly had everything but he was looking for more.
Why do we have to struggle with restlessness? I’m sure you have at some point or other. Rev. Moon suggested:
“Only because of the striving nature of human beings has mankind achieved what it has so far. Human beings are made that way; they are designed to reach out for things which they cannot see with their eyes but can only imagine.”
All of us are blessed with the capacity to dream and we are only truly happy when we are dreaming about something bigger than ourselves. That is when life is exciting. It is part of our spiritual DNA to live for something bigger than ourselves; we desire to live for the sake of others. When we deny that part of ourselves we feel restless and uncomfortable.
Restlessness is good because it pushes you to search. God gave you that nature in hopes it would drive you toward your true purpose.
Our life’s work, in one sense, is to figure out how we can contribute to God’s dream and in so doing fulfill our own dreams. Nevertheless, it’s easy to get tripped up along the way. We fear more than anything that our life has no meaning; that we are just stumbling through random events, and messing up half or most of the time.
Striving for something more
We are all born into different circumstances with various impediments, none of which are a walk in the park. I am reminded of the movie, the Kings Speech.” Here was someone with the greatest of positions but experienced the gravest of hardships. He suffered tremendous loneliness as a child and crippling anxiety and yet he knew he was made for more. How on earth could he succeed?
For one thing, like all of us, to succeed King George had to keep his eyes on the prize. Watch this clip from the movie on YouTube: The King’s Speech
How to run the race is laid out in Hebrews 12:2-3
“….Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.”
Stripping off the weight that slows us down
King George had to strip of the weight of his pride in order to get help for his speech impediment. All of us carry baggage: a weight that slows us down. So it’s not about whether you have stumbling blocks in your life but about what you do with them. Can you learn something from your experience and go forward, ultimately stronger, because of it – keeping your eyes on God? We can choose defeat or we can choose to learn and that is what God is hoping for.
What can you learn from what you have lived?
This is perhaps the most important question. The heaviest weight that slows us down and trips us up is regret and guilt. We regret and feel guilty about a past action and because of that we are always pulled down and even feel like dropping out of the race. Thoughts like, “I’m not qualified” circle around inside your head. Nevertheless, “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” – Vince Lombardi
The measure of your life isn’t your failed experience but how you respond. One of the most important statements King George made was, “I’m willing to work hard.” We all need to work hard, with a vision before us of what we want in our lives, if we are to achieve our potential
It’s good to sit down and make a list of the qualities that you want to develop that can help you achieve your dream for yourself and then intentionally work on one thing. One of the things that causes us to drop out the race, along the way is complaint. It’s the voice in your head that says, “This is too much” or “why should I sacrifice or make effort, no-one else is.” I’m sure you have a list of things for which you feel complaint. Your kids don’t help you enough or your parents just don’t get you; the people at work are stupid and no-one makes as much effort as I do. The possibilities are endless!
Through the hard work you witnessed in the movie clip King George was able to overcome his difficulty. Similarly, there is antidote to complaint but it does take hard work and discipline and you do need the help of people around you.
A simple antidote
Mother Moon is well known for recommending a simple solution to stumbling in your life of faith. Start and end each day and prayer with the words, “Thank you,” and “I love you.” 
The spirit of complaint and gratitude are at odds with each other and the front line for the battle for our souls is right there in the middle, between these two emotions.
Just like King George we have to discipline ourselves. Even when we don’t feel like it we have to practice gratitude. We have to say the words over and over again like a mantra. In the coming week, try it out. In the middle of a frustrating situation say, “thank you.” Search your mind and heart for something, however small, that you can express gratitude for. We have to run the race with our eyes on God who hopes we can love, as he has loved us.
I mentioned Greg Baer who wrote the book, “Real Love” because he found a way to practice this art in his life. His greatness to me is that he didn’t let defeat take him out of the race or define him. He didn’t sit on the sidelines, complaining with others who had also dropped out of the race. Instead, he told himself, “I was made for more. I want real love and I’m going to find it, whatever it takes.”
Creating your turning point
Each of us can do the same thing. What Greg did was to be frank about how his life was in tatters with lots of loose threads blowing in the wind.
But instead of cutting off those threads or denying them he decided to weave them into the fabric of his life, so what once was a weakness or failure supplied strength. He helps others based upon his own struggles. He practices the discipline of being transparent. He doesn’t pretend to be perfect or have lived a perfect life but allows his story and discoveries to help others. I was watching one of his videos and found myself crying. I was deeply moved by him because I felt his honesty and the spirit of God in him.
We are all meant to give that kind of hope and love to each other. If we are to represent God’s spirit on earth then we have to lives of real love.
Instead of trying to hide our weaknesses or live in denial – “I’m OK”, we need to use the difficulties life has given us. Weave everything that we have learned from our difficulties back into our lives. Instead of being ashamed of our mistakes we need to be proud of what we could learn through correcting them. We can be grateful for God’s intervention in our lives.
“…remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.” Hebrews 12.
Owning our position as sons and daughters of God
Sometimes we need a little push to help us find our value. This second clip from The King’s Speech explores that struggle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYAnINmQTYo
I want you to fight hard this week for who you are. Don’t be defeated into thinking you cannot reclaim your soul. We are all incredible sons and daughters of God and should own our inheritance. Each one of us should be able to say, “I am a prince or princess of heaven.”
Leave no-one behind
“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” Hebrews 12:14
Practice hard to overcome one thing that holds you back from running the race; something that makes you want to sit down and give up. Let’s encourage each other – in the spirit of Veterans Day, let’s leave no-one behind. Look around you and decide to fight for the person next to you.
