One Step Forward and Two Steps Backward

…In Your presence is fullness of joy…  Psalm 16:11b

          Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is created and sent to parts of the brain that control our pleasure-reward system.  It allows us to experience feelings of enjoyment through completing a goal, eating, drinking, times of intimacy, etc.  Dopamine is called our motivation molecule because it boosts our drive, focus, and concentration.  It also plays an important role in our memory, mood, and movement.  If our body is not producing enough dopamine, we can be unfocused, unmotivated, lethargic, depressed, and have problems sleeping.  There are healthy ways to boost your dopamine such as a good diet, exercise, setting and achieving goals, and meditation.  There are over 1,000 studies that show meditation increases your dopamine and helps to balance your neurotransmitters.  However, God has already said this in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  Then Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  We will be in perfect peace, fullness of joy, and have pleasures forevermore if we are in and obeying God’s Word, fulfilling the plan that He has for our lives. 

          When we are not obeying God’s Word, we have a void in our life.  This causes people to seek other avenues to boost their dopamine levels to feel better; such as alcohol, drugs, pornography, caffeine, sugar, gambling, video games, shopping, etc.  The enemy has deceived us to taking one step forward and two steps back!  These things do boost your dopamine, but it is a temporary high that can have major negative side effects.  Satan is dangling these things in front of us not to bless us, but to make our problem worse!  These things do provide a fleeting pleasure, one step forward, (Hebrews 11:24-25) but end up pushing us back two or more steps.   Do not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11).  The only way to walk in enduring peace, joy, and pleasures forevermore is by obeying God’s Word.