What is Holding You Back?

Dams are actually pretty impressive structures. This past week, on my return home commute from a workday in Nashville, I drove by the J. Percy Priest Dam which was generating at the time I passed. I have driven by this dam and glanced over at it numerous times over the years, the gigantic, concrete wall holding back millions of gallons of water assuring the safety of the general population in the Cumberland Valley. A passing glance offers just that, a huge wall of concrete, nothing too fancy, but if we give a little "deeper" consideration to the purpose of a dam our perspective may change a bit. 

Dams were created to help control flooding, but with the advent of hydroelectric power creating man-made lakes out of small tributary rivers such as the Stones River that eventually flows into the much larger Cumberland River in Nashville was a smart economic decision as well. 

 

To create the hydroelectric power, gates are opened which allow a controlled amount of water to enter generators turning the turbines to eventually create electricity. So, in essence the dam acts as a barrier to untold amounts of force and power. For the Cumberland Valley in Tennessee, that barrier is critically important for the safety of those living below the dam. That same dam also creates affordable energy that provides households and businesses via electricity that is generated by the controlled release of the contained water behind the dam wall. Sounds like a win-win situation wouldn't you say?

 

But what is the purpose of a river like the Stones River in East Nashville? To flow right? If the river completely dries up the environmental impact would be devastating. That is why it is so important that dams allow a certain level of water to constantly flow through, and then as the gates are opened to generate power the excess water rises the river levels below the dam and the additional life flow is easily visible. What once was a meandering vein of water, suddenly takes on the life of a robust river with ripples and dips that create the sounds of life. I love a river, it represents life and the ever-changing flow of life. 

 

So, if we can agree that a river is representative of life then we are faced with the question of what in your life is creating a dam? What is it that is hindering your flow of life that needs to take place? What is holding you back? What should you be doing that you aren't because your energy is being held back by some real or imaginary concrete barrier in your life? Fear? Insecurity? Lack of experience? Lack of resources? Whatever your "dam" is you can't allow it to limit your strength and purpose in life. God created you to fulfill a purpose for His glory, there is no barrier that should be able to keep you from rolling on downstream, touching lives and doing good works as you go! The Apostle Paul challenged the church in Thessalonica with this encouragement, "Do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit."   

 

It is time for you to be doing what you were called to do! What is holding you back? 

 

Coach Carter