I don’t know about you, but I go through this ever so often. I will just simply feel stuck—stuck in my apathy and poor attitude. I hate these times so much, where I almost feel too tired to even snap out of it, where it would require too much effort to even acknowledge my state. We live in such a busy culture, even within the church, that I think we become numb to our “stuckness” very easily and very regularly.
Today especially I’m feeling stuck. I’m feeling tired, bored and fuzzy. I always seem to come to a place where I’m just tired of it! That’s currently where I’m at. It always takes me a moment to come to my senses.
Why in the midst of being stuck is it always hardest to run to the only One who can pull us out of our spiritual sinking sand? The fight against the resistance I feel is exhausting and almost makes it not seem worth it. But it is always worth it to run to Him. You and I will NEVER be disappointed when we run to God.
This happens frequent enough to me that I’ve learned some quick ways to get my heart back to being soft and fertile.
1.We must honestly acknowledge where we are at spiritually.
To me this looks like snapping out of it and acknowledging personally I am a mess, and I need to run to God.
2. Don’t walk, run to him.
I say run because we typically need to get to him quickly before we have time to talk ourselves out of it! I personally am prone to making excuses of why I shouldn’t go to God in my “stuckness”: shame, fear, too tired, etc.
3. Be brutally honest with God and yourself. God can handle it.
For me this looks like, “God, I am stuck. I feel like a mess. I’ve been avoiding you, and I hate that. I know you truly are the one good thing for me, but I’ve been filling my void with shallow things. And I have been too afraid to approach you.”
4. Repentance.
After being honest, I typically always feel my heart soften and open up to God. Then I’m able to repent from an authentic place.
5. Be met with the grace of God.
The most comforting part of all of this to me is that grace of God doesn’t run out. God is so faithful to always meet us with grace upon grace. In this place I am always astounded at his constant, unwavering love for me.
6. Worship.
Out of encountering the goodness of God, I can’t help but worship. It is the natural response of the human heart to the supreme goodness and infinite love of the Creator God. Turn on your favorite worship song or read aloud your favorite Psalm to him in adoration.
7. Repeat
Like I said before, the grace of God doesn’t run out on us. He is never tired of us or annoyed at our need for repetition. What a good, good Father. Even if it’s every day, don’t be afraid to be honest. We are human, and God expects nothing less of us. It’s us that puts the expectation to constantly be great on ourselves. God will always meet us in our “stuckness”. And when he does, he will have a smile on his face.
I hope this helps. It helped me just writing it. I am so thankful for God. I am so thankful that he is kind, gentle and patient. I am so thankful he is not like us. But he will always meet me where I’m at in gladness. Share you experience if you’d like, mostly know you’re not alone.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” Psalm 28:7
By Rachel Denison
