Got a little mud on the tires....
Sometimes we find ourselves in a "stuck" place. Ever been there? Raise your hand.
I cannot see you, but I will pretend like I do. So, I am not the only one that has been stuck. Shew. That's good to know.
When we are in these "stuck" places, we have two choices.
We can remain stuck. [Hmm. this one is no fun]
Or, we can move forward. [easier said than done, right?]
I am picturing last Christmas when I tried to back out of my mom and dad's driveway as it was POURING down rain. I had somehow backed onto the grass. The soaking wet grass. Oops.
My tires began to spin like crazy, but I was going nowhere. I started to sweat. [Apparently this is a common occurrence in my middle aged life now. Yippee.]
I took a peak out the door, and saw a big fat muddy mess. My tires were sunk way, way, way down deep in this mud.
Was this really happening? On Christmas morning? In my parent's beautifully manicured [sodded] yard? Lord, help.
So, I knew I couldn't just stay there. I had to get this car back on the driveway,
I told the kids to get out and push. When that didn't work, I summoned the kids from next door to come over and push. [mother of the year]
Reluctantly, I had to tell my children to go inside and get my husband to help. This was my last resort. I knew he would not be happy about this. My armpits were doing that tingly thing when you are nervous and sweat is beading up under them. Nice.
After a few pushes, and lots of prayers from my nervous lips, the tires spun right out of the mud. Back onto the driveway.
I was petrified to look at the grass once I got out of my car.
I knew that it would not be pretty. The look on my husband's and the kid's faces showed everything.
The horror. The gasps. The head shaking.
Mortified, I tell you. I was mortified.
Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad! I have just destroyed your yard! [ And my pride right along with it.]
Have you ever felt like my tires did that day? Like, you are spinning and spinning and going absolutely nowhere?
Yes, me too.
Recently, I found myself in a similar position. Not in my car, but in my mind and heart. I just felt stuck. Spinning my wheels and seeing no way out of the spin.
When I cried out to God to help me to move out of this stuck place, He led me to a passage in scripture. IT ROCKED MY WORLD. AND IT STILL DOES. AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO.
Can I share it with you today?
20 David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. 1 Chronicles 28:20
Let me break this down for us.
Be strong.
Be courageous.
Do the work.
Do not be afraid.
Do not be discouraged.
God is with you.
God will not fail you.
God will not forsake you.
God will be with you until all the work is finished.
Can you hear the liberty bell ringing?
Can you hear my tires squealing out of that mud?
When we are stuck, we must draw on what we know. We know that we won't be stuck forever. Even though it sure feels like it.
We must also draw on our resources God has given us. My husband and children were my resources on that Christmas morning. [God bless their muddy shoes]
We must do the work, friends.
God wants to rescue us, but sometimes, many times, we have to do the work it takes. We must not be afraid of the work.
I am thinking of so many times in my life where I didn't want to do the work, but I knew I had to if I wanted to get the results that I desperately desired.
Like, when I wanted to lose all that extra weight after my pregnancies.
Like, when I wanted to be obedient in my spending after too many months of credit card over-spending.
Like, when I wanted to know God's Word, but didn't know where to start.
Like, when I gripped my steering wheel in fear each time I dropped my kids off at school. Petrified something would happen to them.
Like, when I wanted to lead a bible study but didn't feel equipped.
Like, when I wanted to learn how to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving, but just the thought of it made me want to get in the fetal position and suck my thumb in a corner somewhere. [still working on this one]
Like, when I wanted my marriage to be better.
Like, when I wanted my children to behave and not act like heathens every time we went somewhere.
Like, when I desired godly friendships that would encourage me and spur me on in being a wife and mother.
Each of these times, I had to do the work. These things didn't just "happen" because I wanted them to.
I had to put in the time, draw on my resources, and trust that God would help me get unstuck in these areas.
In this life, we will find ourselves stuck at some point.
However, we can't just sit in the mud and stay there.
We cannot throw our hands up, give up, and make up our minds that this is how it will always be.
We must set our minds to do the work. Call on some friends to push us [just like I called on my husband and children], and pray all the way through the unsticking process.
God is with you. He is for you. He has a great plan on the other side of that mud you are stuck in.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
Believe He has something good for you. Believe with all of your precious beating heart!
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[a] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Romans 4:18-25
Thank goodness Abraham and Sarah didn't stay stuck in their sadness over not being able to have children. How different our ancestry would have been. [Romans 4:11]
Abraham and Sarah did the work. [Even at 90 and 100 years old!] They also believed. Even when all hope seemed lost. They continued to believe. They drew on what they knew...that God was faithful.
In what areas are you stuck today?
Go back and read that scripture from 1 Chronicles 28:20.
Let God whisper Hope to your heart as you read this scripture and pray it back to Him.
Be strong. Don't be discouraged. Do the work.
God will do the rest.
still scraping that mud off my tires,
jill
I cannot see you, but I will pretend like I do. So, I am not the only one that has been stuck. Shew. That's good to know.
When we are in these "stuck" places, we have two choices.
We can remain stuck. [Hmm. this one is no fun]
Or, we can move forward. [easier said than done, right?]
I am picturing last Christmas when I tried to back out of my mom and dad's driveway as it was POURING down rain. I had somehow backed onto the grass. The soaking wet grass. Oops.
My tires began to spin like crazy, but I was going nowhere. I started to sweat. [Apparently this is a common occurrence in my middle aged life now. Yippee.]
I took a peak out the door, and saw a big fat muddy mess. My tires were sunk way, way, way down deep in this mud.
Was this really happening? On Christmas morning? In my parent's beautifully manicured [sodded] yard? Lord, help.
So, I knew I couldn't just stay there. I had to get this car back on the driveway,
I told the kids to get out and push. When that didn't work, I summoned the kids from next door to come over and push. [mother of the year]
Reluctantly, I had to tell my children to go inside and get my husband to help. This was my last resort. I knew he would not be happy about this. My armpits were doing that tingly thing when you are nervous and sweat is beading up under them. Nice.
After a few pushes, and lots of prayers from my nervous lips, the tires spun right out of the mud. Back onto the driveway.
I was petrified to look at the grass once I got out of my car.
I knew that it would not be pretty. The look on my husband's and the kid's faces showed everything.
The horror. The gasps. The head shaking.
Mortified, I tell you. I was mortified.
Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad! I have just destroyed your yard! [ And my pride right along with it.]
Have you ever felt like my tires did that day? Like, you are spinning and spinning and going absolutely nowhere?
Yes, me too.
Recently, I found myself in a similar position. Not in my car, but in my mind and heart. I just felt stuck. Spinning my wheels and seeing no way out of the spin.
When I cried out to God to help me to move out of this stuck place, He led me to a passage in scripture. IT ROCKED MY WORLD. AND IT STILL DOES. AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO.
Can I share it with you today?
20 David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. 1 Chronicles 28:20
Let me break this down for us.
Be strong.
Be courageous.
Do the work.
Do not be afraid.
Do not be discouraged.
God is with you.
God will not fail you.
God will not forsake you.
God will be with you until all the work is finished.
Can you hear the liberty bell ringing?
Can you hear my tires squealing out of that mud?
When we are stuck, we must draw on what we know. We know that we won't be stuck forever. Even though it sure feels like it.
We must also draw on our resources God has given us. My husband and children were my resources on that Christmas morning. [God bless their muddy shoes]
We must do the work, friends.
God wants to rescue us, but sometimes, many times, we have to do the work it takes. We must not be afraid of the work.
I am thinking of so many times in my life where I didn't want to do the work, but I knew I had to if I wanted to get the results that I desperately desired.
Like, when I wanted to lose all that extra weight after my pregnancies.
Like, when I wanted to be obedient in my spending after too many months of credit card over-spending.
Like, when I wanted to know God's Word, but didn't know where to start.
Like, when I gripped my steering wheel in fear each time I dropped my kids off at school. Petrified something would happen to them.
Like, when I wanted to lead a bible study but didn't feel equipped.
Like, when I wanted to learn how to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving, but just the thought of it made me want to get in the fetal position and suck my thumb in a corner somewhere. [still working on this one]
Like, when I wanted my marriage to be better.
Like, when I wanted my children to behave and not act like heathens every time we went somewhere.
Like, when I desired godly friendships that would encourage me and spur me on in being a wife and mother.
Each of these times, I had to do the work. These things didn't just "happen" because I wanted them to.
I had to put in the time, draw on my resources, and trust that God would help me get unstuck in these areas.
In this life, we will find ourselves stuck at some point.
However, we can't just sit in the mud and stay there.
We cannot throw our hands up, give up, and make up our minds that this is how it will always be.
We must set our minds to do the work. Call on some friends to push us [just like I called on my husband and children], and pray all the way through the unsticking process.
God is with you. He is for you. He has a great plan on the other side of that mud you are stuck in.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
Believe He has something good for you. Believe with all of your precious beating heart!
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[a] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Romans 4:18-25
Thank goodness Abraham and Sarah didn't stay stuck in their sadness over not being able to have children. How different our ancestry would have been. [Romans 4:11]
Abraham and Sarah did the work. [Even at 90 and 100 years old!] They also believed. Even when all hope seemed lost. They continued to believe. They drew on what they knew...that God was faithful.
In what areas are you stuck today?
Go back and read that scripture from 1 Chronicles 28:20.
Let God whisper Hope to your heart as you read this scripture and pray it back to Him.
Be strong. Don't be discouraged. Do the work.
God will do the rest.
still scraping that mud off my tires,
jill
