Lately, I’ve been feeling ‘stuck’ – where I’m trying to move forward but it seems so difficult. The best way to describe it is by attempting to walk through mud, thick mud – up to my knees. It takes considerable effort to walk as I have to fight the suction of the mud holding my legs down to get the height needed for one more step. There’s no way to run through it, but to struggle through the journey – each step…slowly and wearily until I’m eventually out of the mud.

I’m writing this week’s blog to not only share about where I am at but to walk alongside you if you are feeling sluggish or stuck in the mud. Sometimes, we cannot choose the circumstances that we are in. However, we can choose how we respond and if we will keep moving forward… even if that step is simply one gradual step at a time.

Here are two points to share with you from Hebrews 12:1-2 that I plan on implementing myself:

> LOOK UPWARD – What are your eyes focused on? Your gaze can determine how far you will go and if you trust that God will get you there. The verse mentioned above from Hebrews 12:1-2 says,

“…Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith.”

If your eyes are set on what is holding you back, then there is more emphasis being placed on the problem rather than the solution. If your thoughts are only about how ‘stuck you are’, then the mindset that follows that will be full of negativity and frustration with the distractions that hold you down. Instead, look up and spend time in His Word, remembering the promises that will come. Look up at Jesus who not only started out this good work in you but is doing something through you NOW. His gracious, redeeming, and powerful work is being made in you now, even through the ‘thickness’ of the mud. The question is… how are you going to respond through it?

> KEEP MOVING FOWARD – The race for what God has called you to run might seem like a slow crawl at this point in time, but don’t give up… you won’t always be in the mud! It’s important to remember that there is a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and this too shall pass! (Unlike what Gandolf says…) Perseverance simply means ‘persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.’ You persist through the hardships, the pain, the unknown answers, and the trials. You pick up your feet, even as strenuous and slow as it may seem, so you can get through it. Why wallow in the mud if you can get eventually get out of it? If there’s a choice to stay in it or get out of it… I want to get out of it as soon as I can so I can start running again! Many times, you may not know when this season will end – this is where faith and obedience go hand in hand. If you trust that the Lord is with you through it, you can trust that the Lord will get you out of it. Remember, He is our Perfecter of faith! Therefore, He will complete the good work in what He’s doing with you and through the circumstances that you are in.  

I hope these two points from Hebrews 12:1-2 can help you to run the race, whether you’re in the mud or in a beautiful clearing. Either way, our eyes need to look upward to Jesus and we cannot remain stagnate and stuck our current situations. This is just a season… God has so much more for you and for me! Let’s cling to the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, that if He authored the faith we now have, He will complete it for His glory!

Have a blessed week!