Pastor’s Corner: “Stuck in the Mud”
Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT) – 1 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 (slimy pit). 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.
We live on a beautiful waterway called a Resaca. The views of wildlife and sunsets are amazing, but the one thing I have learned about “Resacas” is that unlike the beach and the ocean on South Padre, they are not for swimming! It may look inviting, but a few steps in you realize that rather than sand (at the beach), you find your feet quickly sinking into a thick mixture of clay and who knows what that reminds me of muck and mire described in Psalm 40. And on top of the mud and muck resacas have the added bonus of alligators!
I know this from personal experience. I have ventured out multiple times for various reasons, only to be reminded that there is no way to avoid getting stuck. The only way that I have found to escape is to abandon my shoes! No joke. I have multiple pairs of shoes in the Resaca that I have never recovered.
There are times in our lives where we can feel stuck and there is no way out. We all face different kinds of pits. Maybe your pit is ill health, unemployment, debt, a friend who has hurt you, an unfaithful spouse or wayward children. Sometimes we are responsible for our pit. Sometimes our actions dig the hole, and we jump right in. But other times, we may be a victim of the sins of others or a fallen world. Despite how you feel, there is a way out! Philippians 4:13 (NLT) – 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
So, if we have this miraculous ability, why do we still struggle? Let’s get specific. It often boils down to the choice of two common words in our vocabulary. Little words, but so different! Can’t and won’t. Christians need to be very careful which one they choose. It seems that we prefer to use can’t.
God is not a liar and He is faithful. The scripture says He will lift us out of the muck and mire, He will set our feet on solid ground, He will put a new song in our heart! So why are we still stuck? Like my shoes in the Resaca, we have to be willing to leave some things behind and never recover. Some of us are unwilling to leave our sin behind as God is reaching out His had to us. Some of us get comfortable and used to the muck and mire of self-pity or we would rather blame God for our predicament rather than taking responsibility for out sin. It is not that we can’t, it is that we won’t.
Non-Christians have every right and reason to use can’t, because they really can’t! They are victims, trapped and bound like slaves in a fierce and endless struggle. Without Christ and His power, they lack what it takes to change permanently. They don’t because they can’t! It is a fact . . . a valid excuse.
But people like us? Let’s face it; we don’t because we won’t. We disobey because we want to, not because we have to… because we choose to, not because we’re forced to. The sooner we are willing to own up realistically to our responsibility and stop playing the blame game at pity parties for ourselves, the sooner we will see and be amazed as God lifts us up, sets our feet on solid ground and puts a new song on our heart!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton