Have you ever felt like you’re just going through the motions, like you’re just going through life and nothing really seems to be happening?
At times we all struggle through life and feel as though we are accomplishing nothing. I like to call this “being stuck in a rut.”
There have been countless instances in my life when I have felt stuck in a rut mentally, spiritually, and physically.
On one unforgettable occasion I really got stuck in a rut. I went scouting for ducks in a familiar spot not considering the recent rain we had received, or the fact that this place naturally had enormous mud holes.
In addition to my ignorance, my parents and grandparents were out of town on vacation. Ignoring the obvious I decided to go anyway. I made it far down the “road” where I wanted to scout with little trouble.
After seeing what I wanted to see, I turned around and started back out. My pride overcame me and I decided to test the 4WD in my jeep.
I was splashing through one of the mud holes, when my front tires slipped into a deep rut with my back tires quickly following.
It is amazing how easily this moment translates into my spiritual life.
So many times I get prideful and foolishly think I control my life. I fool myself into thinking everything is going well, when all of a sudden I’m stuck and sinking in my sins and selfish desires, many times struggling with the same sins and not feeling any closer to God.
The silent killer.
I struggled with the same sins for years. Romans 7:15 spoke directly to me; “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”
I was in a moment I hated…
The momentum of my jeep carried me just a few feet short of being on solid drivable ground. When I came to a stop, I tried rocking my jeep front and back, side to side, anything to see if I could get any tires to touch ground. To my disappointment it wouldn’t budge. I was high centered. Four wheel drive does you no good when your tires are not able to touch the ground.
I was truly stuck. Panic immediately entered my mind. I was stuck on a dead end road. No one was likely to be coming down, and nobody knew I was there. Regaining my senses as quickly as I could and laying my pride aside, I called my best friends who quickly came to my rescue.
It’s good to have friends that will help and encourage us instead of get us in trouble and cut us down. It is even better to know God, the creator, who can help us out of any situation that we find ourselves in. Even when the situation we are in is our own fault, God is willing to rescue us if in the end we call on Him. This means laying our pride aside and allowing God to do his work.