When You Hit the Wall
Have you ever hit the wall?
You know.
You were moving forward,
making progress,
and then,
all of the sudden,
without any warning,
all forward progress came to a screeching halt?
No matter what you do.
No matter what you don’t do.
Nothing seems to be able to propel you
into a forward motion again.
It’s almost as though
you’ve stepped into
an invisible puddle of super glue
and you’re stuck.
This is how I have been feeling
for the past couple of weeks.
I feel as though
I am in a spiritual funk.
Thankfully,
I know my God
is right here with me.
He, who is faithful,
has promised
to never leave me or forsake me.
I can still hear
His still small voice,
and I can still feel
the stir of His Spirit
deep in my inner man.
God is here,
but I can’t quite seem
to get loose
from this “stagnant” place.
ABUNDANCE
This is the word
God gave me
as my word of the year
for 2024.
Yesterday,
wanting so desperately
to step free
and to get back
to moving on,
I cried out to God.
As I opened His word,
His Spirit guided me here,
to these precious words:
“God, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.”
~Psalm 23:1-3, MSG
And I realized,
much to my total amazement
and complete delight,
this place I am finding myself at
is a gift, –
a gift lovingly given to me
by The Good Shepherd.
Because,
truth be told,
this sheep is tired.
This sheep is weary.
This sheep is worn.
This sheep has been trying
to keep up
with all the other sheep.
This sheep has been trying
to keep marching on
and fighting the good fight of faith,
to keep going and going and going . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
But,
honestly,
this sheep has no more
get up and go
to get up and go with.
But,
I’ve been trying to.
And, not only that,
I have been getting
completely frustrated with myself for not –
for not doing,
for not accomplishing,
for not moving on,
for not arriving . . .
for. being. stuck!
In fact,
I’ve been so consumed
with frustration
in this “sedentary” place,
I have foolishly
failed to notice,
much less partake of,
the lush meadows
and the quiet pools of refreshment
God has so graciously
placed before me.
I have failed
to simply rest
and catch my breath
in this God-orchestrated
place of ABUNDANCE.
And, I wonder about you.
How, maybe like me,
God has brought you
to a “resting place”.
And, maybe like me,
you are so blinded
by your desire to move forward,
you are convinced
this place of blessing
is nothing more than
an unwanted spiritual funk –
a place to fight your way through
and back out of.
Maybe, like me,
you’ve been so busy
resisting the “pause”,
you’ve failed to notice
the blessings
in this place of stillness.
Hear these words again:
“God, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.”
Oh, these precious words.
Maybe, just maybe,
it’s time for you and me
to catch our breath.
Maybe, just maybe,
The Good Shepherd
is treating you and me
the way He always does –
with tender kindness, mercy, love and grace.
Maybe, just maybe,
our Abba Father
is pulling us from the rat race
of human existence
and inviting us
to come and to sit
at His feet,
to come and drink
of The Living Water
found only in Him.
Maybe, just maybe,
our Heavenly Father
is not keeping us from,
but instead is
fortifying,
equipping,
strengthening,
and renewing us,
in the midst of.
Let’s catch our breath.
Let’s take hold
of the ABUNDANCE
God has so lovingly
placed before us.
And then,
when the Good Shepherd
is ready to lead,
let’s you and me follow Him
all
the
days
of
our life.
~Stacy
This post is the twenty-first post in the ABUNDANCE series.
The first post is “Abundance”, followed by “FULLY LOVED”, “In a New Light”, “Less is More”,“Choose Life”,“Run to The Father”, “Keep Looking”, “Doubling Up”, “The Referral”,“The Question”, “Death Brings Life” “Surrender” , “I’ve Got a God For That”, “Live Out Loud“, “MK”, “Finally”, “The Front Porch”, “All The Emotions”, “Urgent Care” and “The Author of Our Story”
