Stuck

Ever get stuck?  You know, the tires spin but you don't go anywhere?  My 3 year old rides a bike with training wheels and now and then he gets to a place where the training wheels keep his main tire just off the ground enough that he spins but doesn't go anywhere.  I have gotten stuck in our driveway a few times in the winter as the snow and ice kept me from getting traction.  My favorite stuck story though is years ago when a girl in our youth group missed the church driveway and ended up in the soft lawn, getting stuck in mud.  By the time we got her out, we were covered!

This put me in mind of some people who get stuck.  I'm not talking about cars or bikes anymore, I'm talking about spiritually stuck.  At some point they have something happen to them that seems bad.  Perhaps they got hurt by a friend or coworker.  Perhaps they got dismissed from their job.  Perhaps they were cheated by a family member or otherwise mistreated.  Maybe it was something really big like abuse.  Whatever the event, the got stuck in it.  Oh, to be sure, they have moved on, but not spiritually.  The wheels might be turning, but if you listen long enough, you will realize that they are still angry, still hurt, still injured from that event and haven't moved out of that hole.  They're going on with their lives, but the spiritual life has never gotten past that event.

Why does that happen?  Unforgiveness and an unteachable heart.  The Bible tells us that God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.  That means that even things that seem very negative to us, are tools in God's hands to mature us and develop us.  When instead of seeing past the actions of man to see the overriding action of God, we instead focus on the hurt that someone else has caused us, we short-circuit that process and we get stuck.  We can't forgive the other person because we are focused on their act, not what God wants to do through that act.  We can't realize the positive power of what God wants to teach because we're still mad that it happened in the first place.  Often times, without realizing it, we have made the situation worse by spinning our tires and digging ourselves in rather than being humble and teachable.

I have to tell you that I have been mistreated before.  I have had people betray and hurt me.  I can't let that get me stuck.  I have to be like Joseph who looked back at the actions of his brothers and said,  "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life."  (Genesis 45:5 NAS).  Notice that?  Not only isn't he angry, he doesn't even want his brothers to be regretful for what they did, which was so very wrong.  Joseph realizes that He is in God's hands and he is totally submissive to what God is doing, not focusing on what people are doing.  This is way beyond mere human forgiveness, this is looking at your life in a whole different way.

Are you stuck?  Is there an area where you still have anger, bitterness, resentment because of the actions of someone else?  Only forgiveness and submission to God will get you unstuck and allow you to start to grow again spiritually.