Maybe grace is what we need
Other than yuck!, what came to mind when you saw the picture?
For me, it was the word “stuck”. Maybe you are mired in a world of unmet dreams and uncompleted to-do lists. And, you know what likely happens when you find yourself in this situation? The more you fight against it, the more stuck you become.
I don’t mean being double-booked, or finding yourself having to defer the purchase of something you need until money’s freed up, or even wondering how you’ll ever finish all the projects crying for your attention.
I’m talking about looking at your life and believing you’re stuck, never to move again. Deeply stuck. Hopeless stuck. I give up stuck.
Here in the Charlotte area, fall cankerworms sometimes attack our trees. These little critters crawl up tree trunks in December and hatch their eggs on twigs and small branches. As the leaves come back in the spring, the eggs hatch and the small green caterpillars feed on the leaves. I’ve had trees stripped bare.
The most prevalent solution is to band the trees with a wickedly sticky substance like Tanglefoot. As the bugs climb the tree, they get stuck in the Tanglefoot. I’ve banded trees for several years and I can tell you, that stuff will not let go once you’re in it. On occasion, I’ve had to abandon my rubber gloves, giving them over to the Tanglefoot.
Now, I haven’t watched those little bugs trying to work their way through a six-inch ribbon of that stuff, but I can imagine the more they struggle, the more stuck they get. At some point, I’m sure it’s a hopeless endeavor.
Where are those thoughts of hopelessness coming from? Have you had occasion in the past where you weren’t able to move forward—at all? Does Satan know you tend to go there?
Here’s where I sometimes question God’s calling me to write this blog. I’m not a counselor nor a theologian. I’m just a guy who sometimes gets stuck. The more I fight it, the more stuck I get. My fighting takes the form of procrastination. Not the “I’ll take care of this tomorrow” procrastination, but the “If I do other things that give me pleasure, even when I know it’s temporary, maybe the thing I’m stuck in will go away” procrastination.
Guess what? The thing I’m ignoring doesn’t go away. And, while that thing is sitting there like a lion getting hungrier by the day, waiting for me to return, new things are piling on and soon I can’t move. I mean, who’s in control here? Not me.
My life verse is Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (NASB).
Whether or not it’s your life verse, it’s true. Christians live by faith in Jesus. Jesus is in control. No matter how we try to control the situation—procrastination, denial, hating, fearing—whatever we do, we’re not in control. If we’re not living that way, we’re allowing our thoughts, or Satan, think they’re in control. Sounds like warfare to me.
The cynical side of some of us may be thinking, Okay, so I give control to Jesus, and I’m still stuck. Jesus doesn’t just take my problems away.
Here’s what I have to ask myself. Do I need Him to take my problem away or give me grace to deal with my problem?
I have to say (since He’s in control), “His choice.”
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we learn the Lord’s response to Paul’s sharing of his problem. “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (NASB)
Whatever you’re trapped in, let’s give that situation to the one who is in control—Jesus, the one who loved us and gave Himself for us, the one whose grace is sufficient for us.
What do you think? I’d love to hear.
Thank you for sharing and reminding us we don’t have to struggle alone. It’s amazing how this little bug can multiply and literally kill a tree. You have led our family by always reminding us to turn to God for our direction – in difficult times and in good exciting times like deciding where to go to college. You do live by your life verse. I am so thankful to be your wife.
Thank you Honey. : )
Realizing we’re not in control is the hard part. Prayer is the answer for me.
Love it, Ed! I read back through the post and realized I didn’t even mention prayer. Thanks for your response — “Prayer is the answer for me.”
Great post Tim! I have to say, my first thought when I saw that picture was definitely “YUCK!!!” You make such a great point about fighting against something causing us to become even more stuck. As Christ-followers, thankfully, we don’t have to stay stuck. We just have to trust that the author of our faith will help us move forward, whether it’s moving forward on the path we were on, changing direction, or letting go of something that’s no longer serving us. Our job is just to reach out to Him to ask for wisdom, then be obedient to whatever He gives us to do. I don’t know about you, but that’s hard for me to do sometimes. Sometimes He only gives me one step to take, when I’d like to have the big picture. I have learned from being stuck on numerous occasions, though, that sometimes I just have to take that one small step to break that bond and start to move forward again.
You said it very well Terri. No matter our station in life, we’re going to have our moments. Life is, well, just hard sometimes. Trusting God to lead us out of our troubled times into rest with Him is the key. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You always have a great message.
Amen Tim –
Some things we put off are quick to show us our poor judgement – like mowing the lawn. Every day we put it off makes it harder to do – and we know it. It’s those sidetracks of temporary pleasure – or “escape” – the ones that don’t show obvious consequences – that trip me up. Then I look back and think, “I could have tackled that long before now.” Often, the enemy then attempts to pile on the guilt and I’m tempted to join him in poor self talk. But as you say, Jesus IS in control. What’s done is done (or in this case …not done!) But His grace IS sufficient – and His mercy is new every morning. Given that – why is it so hard to trust Him? Because you’re right – we’re in a war – and though our enemy is defeated – he’s still swinging. Lately my antidote has become II Cor. 10:5 – …taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And falling onto God’s grace, when I fail to do so!
Denny – those are great thoughts on this topic. And, you may not believe it, but 2 Cor. 10:5 was a large part of this post before editing and cutting. In fact, I had to go back and re-read my post because I was sure I’d mentioned it. You said everything so well. It’s those pesky thoughts, either from our flesh or from Satan that tell us we need to be guilty or that we can’t do what we know we need to do. And if Christ is in control, why not take those thoughts captive and give them to Him? Thanks so much for your comment.