Getting Unstuck
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine will run out and the skins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
— Luke 5:37, 38
Did anybody get stuck in the snow or ice this week? Stuck! That’s when your tires are spinning, but you don’t go anywhere. You hit the gas, the engine revs, but the car doesn’t move. If you are going to get unstuck, you’ve got to get traction. You’ve got to do something different than just keep pressing the gas pedal.
Ever been “stuck” spiritually? I sure have! It’s being trapped in the “same old, same old” where your walk with God, church involvement, worship experience, your personal growth, and relationships are static.
Stuck. Static. Ugh! Yuck! That’s not what we signed up for! No, we became Christians because we saw in Jesus the hope that our lives could change. And not just a one-time blip on the screen, but an ongoing life of dynamic, exciting growth that made us more like Jesus the longer we followed him.
Has God worked lately in your life and ministry in the kinds of powerful ways where you said to yourself — That was God at work! No way that happened by chance, or by human power alone!
When we hit “stuck” times, God is telling us it is time to stretch our faith. Time to push the envelope. Time to have real faith, time to stop just going through the motions. Time to take some radical steps, where it’s just us out there with God, and it’s a bit scary.
Just like being stuck in the snow or ice, we gotta do something different if we are going to get spiritual traction. Church, that’s what this 21 day fast is all about! It’s about stretching our faith, getting out on the radical edge, rediscovering the awe of God being alive – really alive – in our walk with him.
Use this time to get out there with God again, to see Him moving in your life in ways you have not seen in months, or even years.
Someone said “If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will get the same results you have been having.” Just between you and God, do something different. Fast and pray to draw near to Him. And then, watch what happens!
— Sam Laing