I woke up one morning last week and felt sad. There was nothing in particular I was sad about. Just sad. I felt that way the entire day. I know I have a pretty sensitive soul and spirit. Sometimes what I watch on TV can have that effect on me. Sometimes music will do it. A song will illicit an emotional response. I’m not unusual in that.

I realize the important thing is to understand the underlying cause of the sadness. It can be connected to something that was said or done the day before. It sits in your mind and spirit and incubates and manifests as a feeling. It’s good to know what caused it so you can look at it from all angles and determine what to do with it. You always have a choice in that.

Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a reason. It’s just there. It’s at these times I believe it’s your spirit’s way of saying, rest. Take a breath. Here is why I believe that.

Yearning and longing can easily be mistaken for sadness. I’m not talking about depression. That’s an entirely different subject. When we yearn or long for something we look to fill that place with many different things. Things that will cause us to feel the opposite of sadness. Often times this is the root of addictions. Food, drugs, alcohol, sex and things. The list could be pretty long. However all of this provides only a temporary high if you will. High being the opposite of sadness. It causes a release of “feel good” chemicals in your system. But that feeling goes away, pretty quickly. And so we repeat the action or addiction over again.

This is why drug addiction is at an all time high; why people are constantly looking for the newest, best, biggest. More bells and whistles. I see it all over. Even in the church. I also believe it’s why believers are not living in the fulness of Christ that is available to them.

What is truly needed is something that can provide a sustained satisfaction to that longing; a satisfaction that is not hurtful to ourselves or others; that does not distract us from “Christ in us the hope of glory.”

There is only one thing that can provide that: Experiencing your union with Jesus Christ and the fulness of the God-head – Father, Son and Spirit. That yearning and longing that you feel and misinterpret is truly built into us in order to draw us always deeper into our union; into relationship with Him. If we don’t know or understand that, we will look to other things to satisfy and they will never satisfy, only make us feel temporarily disconnected from Him and our true selves.

When you are feeling a sadness, don’t go to nearest most convenient temporary fix. Stop and make a deliberate choice. Understand it’s your heart looking for deep connection and union to the One who created you, gave all of himself to you and desires you. Take some time, even just 10 minutes, to quiet your mind and heart and just be with him. He is not far, he is right inside of you. He never fails to respond and actually has been passionately waiting for this moment.

We, as believers, need to get this. We need to be living from a place of his glory being fully expressed in and through us. The world needs to see this coming from us. Until that happens, people will continue to look to addictions to satisfy what God himself has stirred in them. When it comes to these things, we are quick to blame drug cartels, weak border security, the selfishness and greed of others, and “sin.” But there is a bigger reason for addiction’s destructive presence in the world… The bride is not yet living in the fulness of the Kingdom! Lack of understanding, incorrect teaching in the church, and simply not surrendering completely to the Holy Spirit are the real reasons. We need to come fully AWAKE! To completely embrace him in me and I in him. To not fracture or separate our lives into pieces because there are parts of us that we believe God doesn’t like or enjoy. He loves all of you. And if there is something you are believing or doing that is not beneficial to your or keeps you from experiencing your full union with him, he will lovingly teach you to think like him. That’s revelation. That’s truly exhilarating and a high that brings lasting change.