A year or two after high school, my son bought a Jeep
Wrangler. The romance of “off-roading” captivated him, and so off he went into
the deep woods on a trail that was suited to a small four-wheeler. He over-estimated
the ability of the 4 wheel drive as he drove into a muddy hole! The Jeep was
soon buried to the axles.
When Jay
showed up that evening long ago, tired and muddy after his misadventure in the
woods, I was aggravated with him for being foolish, but thankful he asked for
help. The next day, with help from his and a friend who knew the ‘woods’ well,
the Jeep was recovered after considerable effort. The trip to retrieve the
Wrangler turned into an adventure we did together, a memory we share. Today,
it’s one of those family stories that always brings on laughter. It’s not hard
to imagine Jay’s frustration and desperation as he gunned the engine and just
dug in deeper!
There is a parable for life. In life, we find ourselves in a
bog from time to time, don’t we? We cruise
along, becoming overly confident and then, we’re stuck! Sometimes all our
struggling does nothing but make the mudhole deeper. We squirm and argue, kick
and whine, but no matter what we do, the hole just gets deeper. You know what
I’m talking about, it happens to all of us.
The wise know when it is time to just give up – in a
faith-filled way. No, we do not just quit or resign to the circumstance,
with a heavy sigh and defeat.
We stop struggling.
We admit our weakness.
We enlist good friends to come alongside of us.
And, we surrender our heart and life to the Lord asking for His wisdom, asking for an infusion of courage, and trusting Him to reveal the resources we need to get out of the hole.
We stop struggling.
We admit our weakness.
We enlist good friends to come alongside of us.
And, we surrender our heart and life to the Lord asking for His wisdom, asking for an infusion of courage, and trusting Him to reveal the resources we need to get out of the hole.
Think that’s
easy? It’s not! There is that thing called – pride. Millions stay stuck refusing to admit, “I’m
in over my head.” Who wants to admit he
can’t get himself out of the pit? Who wants to ‘let go and let God?’ We say it and it sounds good, but the doing
is much, much harder.
Shortly after the miraculous Exodus from Egypt, the people of God found themselves with no way
out! The Egyptian army (the super-power of the day) was a day’s march
behind them and the Red Sea was blocking the way ahead. They were a nation of
former slaves, with no army and few weapons.
As their situation became desperate, they “panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to
the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the
wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to
us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while
we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the
Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!”
(Exodus 14:10-12, NLT) Panic! Blame!
Loss of perspective! The mud flew, so to
speak, but they were still ‘stuck.’
Moses, whose faith
had been deepening, calls on them to give up! “Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians
you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you.
Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:13-14, NLT)
Just stand still. This was
not giving in to fate. This was giving
up in faith! Their admission that
they could do nothing was paired with their expectation that God would do
something. And He did. Only as the faithful and courageous Moses was willing to
obediently do what God said, extending his staff over the sea, did the Lord open
up the sea. The solution was amazing, unforeseen, and a lesson in greater
faith.
Is the mud flying, the hole getting deeper?
Is your desperation growing?
Is your desperation growing?
Give up! Look up!
Turn to the Lord and offer yourself completely to Him. Sometimes
He changes our situation, sometimes He changes us.
Here’s a word from the Word. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God
of Jacob is our fortress." (Psalm 46:10-11, NIV)
________________
(Listen at this link as you pray)
Lord I come I confess
Bowing here I find my
rest
And without You I fall
apart
You're the one that
guides my heart
Lord I need You oh I
need You
Ev'ry hour I need You
My one defense my
righteousness
Oh God how I need You
Where sin runs deep
Your grace is more
Where grace is found
is where You are
And where You are Lord
I am free
Holiness is Christ in
me
Where You are Lord I
am free
Holiness is Christ in
me
So teach my song to
rise to You
When temptation comes
my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus You're my hope and stay
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus You're my hope and stay
Lord I need You oh I need You
Ev'ry hour I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
Christy Nockels | Daniel Carson | Jesse Reeves | Kristian
Stanfill | Matt Maher
© 2011 sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Sweater Weather Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
CCLI License # 810055
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