Stuck

Psalm 40:1-5 (NLT)

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
    and steadied me as I walked along.
³ He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord.

⁴ Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
    who have no confidence in the proud
    or in those who worship idols.
⁵ O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
    Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
    You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
    I would never come to the end of them.

Lately, I have been feeling increasingly what the picture above shows. Stuck. Quietly, discontent has grown. I have 3 jobs. Somehow, while I have felt affirmed, loved, and needed in my other 2 jobs, my primary job is a different story. Lately there, I feel like I have been pushed into a corner, not respected for the time served, not appreciated for my actual value... just kind of stuck going through the motions. I have felt these feelings before. However, when I was less mature, I would have complained to everyone in sight about how this is not right and I should not be dealing with this. You know, the way of the world. However, this time around, I am choosing to let the Lord fight my battle.

Make no mistake, it's a battle for sure. But less of a me "fighting the system" and more "God helping me to break the cycle." The thing is, sometimes the battle is not earthly. The Bible clearly states we are in a Spiritual battle, not an earthly one. We are fighting principalities and powers, not flesh and bone. While some people may intentionally or otherwise be playing into that battle, the people themselves are not the enemy, the spirit behind them is. Whether they are possessed or not is irrelevant. Only how you and I react to that. Will we allow a spirit of anxiety, which is not from God, or fear, also not from God, to rob our peace? Will we do what the internet calls "Crash out" and throw a tantrum? Or will we exercise God's grace, allow HIM access to our WHOLE life including our problems and rest on him?

What I find amazing about what David writes in Psalm 40 is that nowhere in those verses does he say "You changed the circumstances and changed everyone else." Instead, what you see from the language (at least what we read in the NLT) that God "...steadied me as I walked along." (v. 2b).

What does that mean? In my mind, and with my experience, it does not mean that God will always and permanently remove or change the circumstances we find ourselves in. Deserved or not, we are playing out the consequences of human decisions and God will never violate free will.

So then what does steading do for us? God takes the highs and the lows out. He re-assures us that He's here and comforts us and extends his MERCY on us.

No matter how you feel today, God can and will continue to walk alongside you. He can un-stick you from whatever you are facing. Will we let him? I choose yes.