Being stuck

Being stuck is never fun.

I have been stuck in airports with intended and non-intended layovers, sometimes up to 6 or 7 hours.  It is never fun.

I have been stuck in traffic in Chicago, LA and Paris.  It is never fun.

One time I was stuck in an elevator.

We do everything we can to avoid such times of "being stuck".

Stuck in traffic, stuck at an airport, stuck waiting line for a table at the restaurant.

Stuck.

No where else to go.

Have you ever been "stuck" spiritually? 

Going nowhere, fast?

Burned out?

In a mode of failure?

Getting "F's" on your spiritual report card?

Here's what I know: 

The positive side of being "stuck" spiritually is that it forces us to (if we want to become unstuck) to slow down - to stop. 

It halts the momentum of our lives. 

We realize that we are stuck and end up searching for Jesus. 

We realize that our hunger for God and longings and yearnings for His spirit have been stifled. 

We realize that we (once again) need to let go and let the Holy Spirit come back in.

I read a story today of a pastor of a church in England who announced to his congregation one Sunday that he was resigning because he no longer believer in Christianity.

Stunned at first, the congregation gathered its composure, and the elders asked the pastor to meet with the congregation after the service.  Everyone knew what was going to happen.  His resignation would be accepted, financial arrangements would be made, and the search for a new pastor would begin.

But that is not what happened.  The elders stood before the pastor and said, "Sir, we understand you have come to the painful conclusion that Christianity is not true.  We believe it IS true.  IN fact, we're so convinced it is true, we want you to stay on as our pastor.  We want you to stand up each Sunday and preach your doubts to us.  It's okay.  We want to hear them, not so we can argue with you but so this can be a place where you can honestly seek the truth."

For three years, the pastor preached his doubts, and one morning he stood in the pulpit, looked out at the congregation with his eyes full of tears, and said, "I have found faith again.  Thank you for trusting the gospel; thank you for waiting for me to find my faith again!"

The pastor was stuck, burned out, lost, sinking in the quicksand of doubt, and his church recognized his stuckness!

An extraordinary congregation of ordinary people understood their pastor's need to wrestle with the truth.

Instead of talking about the truth, they trusted the truth.

My encouragement to you today, if you are "stuck" is to break out of your "stuckness" by reaching out to Jesus.  Trusting in Jesus.  And you will grow deeper in Him as never before.

Just a thought for a Thursday.