HOW to Get unSTUCK from a Spiritual Rut- Part 3

Did you stop accelerating and assess God?

Hopefully, through taking your foot off the accelerator you have regained ground in areas in which you were missing the freedom found in knowing and following Christ. Sometimes we trap ourselves into doing so much that we forget that our doing should only be a reflection of our being. This also should remind us that what we are doing with our time, money and energy does have a reflection on who we are.

Are you feeling strengthened after assessing God? I love how discovering and responding to truths about God can literally give strength to your mind, body and soul. It is the supernatural working of the Spirit breathing strength into every aspect of our lives. Regardless of how deep the rut you’re in, He can renew you with His truth.

If you haven’t had a chance to reflect on Psalm 46 and assess God, I encourage you to go back and read Part 1 and Part 2 before moving to Part 3 today. They provide vital parts of the process of HOW to get unstuck from a spiritual rut.

I’ve been anxiously waiting to share this next step with you all. I took some time to meditate on it myself before sharing it with you.

HOW do you get out of a spiritual “rut?”:

                —STUDY THE OWNER’S MANUAL and ACCESS POWER

In the first post of this series we learned from 1 Peter 1:3 that God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. How do we access God divine power? According to 1 Peter 1:3, it has been made available to us through the knowledge of Him who called us. The primary way we gain this knowledge is through His word, our owner’s manual.

Why do we need to study the owner’s manual?

1.       To access the power to enjoy the value of life and godliness

2.       To access the power to glorify God

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Too often we try to enjoy something before we read the manual. Reasons why we may not read the manual include: 1. Take’s too much time 2. We think it may not offer any added benefit 3. We think we already know how it works and 4. We think our way is a better way.

One of the main complaints from customer service agents for products is people calling in to ask for help with their product when the only thing wrong with it was they simply needed to plug the product into a power source. Sounds silly, but what if that is why we end up in spiritual ruts.

Failing to access the power of the knowledge of God will result in spiritual ruts. When we study God’s word we access the power to enjoy the life and godliness He has provided for us. It is also the means by which we glorify Him, our creator and redeemer.

Accessing Power

According to our owner’s manual for life and godliness, we access God’s divine power through the knowledge of Him who called us.

“Through the knowledge of Him who called us”

The word through is an important word in scripture. It comes from the Greek word Dia. It literally means the ground or reason why something is or is not done. The reason this word through is so important is because it links us to our HOW. I explained in the first post I would be using the illustration of a vehicle equipped with a winch to demonstrate how we have been given everything we need to get out of any spiritual rut. In order to get out of the rut, we need to know the power (pulling capability) of our cable. If you’re cable is too weak, it won’t pull you out of the rut.

Over the next few days we will be studying our owner’s manual to find out how powerful our cable is that links us to Christ.

How powerful is our cable to Christ?

The power of our cable to Christ is based on three components:

1.       Blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7)

2.       Resurrection of Christ

3.       Spirit of Christ

These three components make our cable to Christ incomparable and indestructible. We will use the words incomparable and indestructible to help us understand the power of our cable to Christ.

The word incomparable means unequaled in quality and impossible to compare.

A few words that describe Indestructible are: imperishable, reinforced, and eternal.

Today we will look at the first of three incomparable and indestructible components: the blood of Christ.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:7

Why does the blood of Christ make our cable incomparable and indestructible?

A Comparison of Cables: Old and New

—The Old Cable

In John 6:53—58, we find some of the most difficult words that Jesus ever spoke. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” This word that Jesus spoke was so difficult that some of His followers literally turned away from following Him. The word “blood” does strange things to us. Some people get queasy at just the mention of the word. Even worse, the sight of blood can cause the strongest of men to become weak at the knees. Blood is powerful. There is no substitute for blood. Blood is vital to life.

The opposite of life is death. In Romans 5:12-14, we learn that death entered the world through the sin of Adam. As a result, we all have sinned and deserve death. In the Old Testament, we see a requirement that God made so that His people could still enter His presence. Every year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter the tabernacle and offer sacrifices for his sin and the sin of the people. (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16-17;-For more background, I encourage you to read these passages) The sacrifice that God required was the blood of a bull, ram and goat. (Leviticus 16:3) When you read these passages about the required sacrifice for sin, you learn how serious God is about sin. The process was not only very specific, but incredibly involved. It could be compared to a “hand-crank winch.”

Why was God so serious about sin? He is holy. He can’t be in the presence of sin. God hates sin. If we minimize the seriousness of God’s hatred of sin, we will not enjoy the pleasures of His presence. God wanted to enjoy the presence of his people. Sacrifices became the requirement by which God would enjoy the presence of His people and the way through which His people would enjoy His presence.

In Hebrews we learn that God had a plan to abolish the way of the former sacrifices to offer an incomparable and indestructible sacrifice for sin. This sacrifice would come through the death of His only son, Jesus Christ.

—The New Cable

An Incomparable Cable

The word incomparable means unequaled in quality and impossible to compare.

What makes Christ unequaled in quality?

He was divinely God

                “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;” Hebrews 1:3

He was humanly man

                “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 2:17

He was perfect

                “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15

An Indestructible Cable

A few words that describe Indestructible are:  imperishable, reinforced, and eternal.

Imperishable

                “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with (through) precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19

Reinforced

                “so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.” Hebrews 7:22

Eternal

                “and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12                                                        

How can we enter His presence through the blood of Christ?

1.       Enter with Confidence (Hebrews 10:19)

                    — You have an incomparable cable in the blood of Christ

o   No one and nothing can bring you into the presence of God- except His blood

The beauty of the blood of Christ is it did away with the need for a mediator (old cable) between us and God. I find it strange that at times we are more comfortable with a mediator than entering His presence ourselves. We depend on a friend, teacher or pastor to be our way to God. We even try to earn our way with good works. Our confidence can’t be in a person or in a good work—our confidence is His blood.

Living out of the rut means living in the fullness of His presence- Enter with confidence. I promise…If He can handle me, He can handle you!

2.       Draw Near with a Sincere Heart  (Hebrews 10:22)

—You have an indestructible cable in the blood of Christ

A sincere heart is genuine and cannot lie. He wants us to draw near to Him just as we are, rut and all. His blood is more than sufficient to cover any rut you are in, have ever been in or will ever be in. It’s already been covered! Remember His blood is imperishable, reinforced and eternal.

o   No Matter How Deep the Rut

You may have thought that the sin or the depth of despair that you have been in is too much for God to cover. (Hebrews 9:14) His blood reaches to the deepest pit and crevice.

o   No Matter How Long You’ve Been in the Rut

His blood is eternally working for you, even in the rut. (Hebrews 7:25)

o   No Matter How Complicated and Messy the Rut

His blood has overcome the greatest evil. (Hebrews 2:14) You may think your situation is too messed up for even God. He shed His blood for complicated and messed up lives.  

Whether you’re down in a rut, feel your feet slipping into one or you just want to stay out of the rut, the blood of Christ offers more than enough power to pull you out and keep you out of the rut and put you on solid ground. The solid ground represents the place where we enjoy the power of His presence and the pleasures of bringing glory to Him.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

I encourage you to meditate on the knowledge of the blood of Christ that we discovered in the word today. You’ll be amazed by the power that is available to you through meditating and responding to these truths.

I would love to hear from you on: What specific truth about His blood has encouraged you to come out of the rut and into His presence?

Next, we will look at the resurrection of Christ and how it relates to the power of our cable to Christ. Exicting...I can't wait!!

I thank the Lord for you all for sharing this journey with me. Please share your comments. We all need the encouragement!

Love, Tammy

HOW to Get unSTUCK from a Spiritual Rut—Part 2

Imagine the scene, the engines roaring, you keep pressing the accelerator, but you’re going nowhere. At first you were calm at the notion of being stuck, in a strange way you enjoyed being there, but now you’re getting a little concerned that you may never get out of this place. You are beginning to feel all alone…a stranded of sorts.

Stuck and Stranded in a spiritual rut…can you relate?

If you’re reading this blog before reading the last one titled “Stuck in a Spiritual Rut?,” I encourage you to go back and read it. This is one part of a series of blogs on HOW to get out of a spiritual “rut.”

If you’ve come back…I’m so excited you did! I really didn’t want to do this alone! So let’s get started and get out of some spiritual “ruts!” (I know…I have probably over used the exclamation mark, but it conveys my heart right now…a little excited about getting out of a “rut!”)

HOW do you get out of a spiritual “rut?”

                First—STOP ACCELERATING AND ASSESS

To get out of a spiritual “rut” we must first stop pressing the accelerator. Often, when we find ourselves in a spiritual “rut” we think we just need to do more. We think that if we do more then we’ll get unstuck. We think, “If I do more for my family,” “If I do more for my church,” “If I do more for my community”…I’ll get unstuck. We press the accelerator, going nowhere, but in some way we have deceived ourselves into thinking that it will get us out of the rut.

In Psalm 46:10, we find a well-known command, “Be still and know that I am God.”

“Be Still”—Stop Accelerating

How do we stop accelerating?

This looks different for each of us. Here are some things I have evaluated in my life:

1. Am I outdoing my being? (Are the things that I am doing on the outside a reflection of the    transformation of the inside?) (Romans 12:1-2)

2. Are the things I'm doing for pleasing God or for pleasing people? (Galatians 1:10)

3. Am I trying to earn my way into rightness with God though things I can do? (Romans 6:23)

4. Do I serve my family, friends and church out of glorifying God or myself? (1 Corinthinans 10:31)

I'm certainly not saying to stop everything you are doing. When we are in a spiritual "rut," we need to stop accelerating by evaluating what we're doing, why we're doing it and who we're doing it for. Then, as the Spirit leads, we need to allow Him to change our hearts, our doing or both.

Why do we need to stop accelerating?

1.       Everyone around us is getting mud on them

 

What does “mud” look like for your husband, children, family, friends, and church?

·         Anger

·         Impatience

·         Selfishness

·         Envy

·         Jealousy

·         Bitterness

·         Strife

Imagine that mud…

These dangerous emotions can lead to other sins as well. Before you know it…the “rut” has become much deeper.

2.       The more you accelerate, the “rut” get’s deeper and deeper

The dangers of spiritual “ruts” can be that we end up sinning in areas that we “never” thought we would.

What do we need to Assess?

And know…

“I am God”—Assess who God Is

When we’re stuck in a rut we often spend our time assessing the “rut” itself. We ask ourselves why and how this happened to us. (I’m not saying that we don’t need to do this later. But when we’re stuck, the first thing we need to do is get out.) When we assess the rut first, for the most part, the focus remains on us.

What if we spent our time assessing God? Assessing Him through His word.

What do I mean by “assess” God? I mean we need to value who God is.

When we look at Psalm 46 and “assess” God we find that He is:

·         Our refuge (46:1)

·         Our strength (46:1)

·         A very present help in trouble (46:1)

·         Unchanging (46:2-4)

·         Dwelling Place (46:4)

·         An unmoving, firm foundation (46:5)

·         In the midst of you (46:5)

·         Will help you (46:5)

·         He speaks and the earth obeys (46:6)

·         With us (46:7)

·         Our stronghold (46:7)

·         Judges the earth (46:8)

·         Ends wars (46:9)

Wow! God is an unmoving, firm foundation. Isn’t that what you need to get out of a “rut.” In the midst of a spiritual “rut” there is nothing like assessing our God. We may be in the rut, but He’s with us. Sometimes a “rut” provides us with a fresh perspective of God. He doesn’t want you to stay there, but we can decide to get as much out of the “rut” as we can.” One of the greatest reasons we end up in a spiritual rut is because we have begun to doubt or have failed to recognize a truth about God. At its core it’s called unbelief.

Let’s apply some believing to our rut!!

In conclusion today, I want to encourage you to spend time meditating on Psalm 46. Specifically, applying one or more of the characteristics of God to your spiritual “rut.”

·         What are some replacements for God that you have tried to use to get out of the “rut?”

·         What truth about God is important for you for the particular “rut” you are in now?”

·         How can knowing this truth about God strengthen you in the “rut?”

Now, take some time and acknowledge those “replacements” before Him. You can know that you’re already forgiven because of what Christ has once and for all done to your sin. (Hebrews 10:10) After acknowledging it before God, praise Him for who He is for you. Treasure Him for who He alone can be for you! Your husband, children, friends, co-workers, church, doing good things, success, money, a new outfit with new shoes, a good movie and the list goes on, can’t be who He is for you. Only God can satisfy you in and out of the rut. Know and Believe Him today.

I would love to hear how God has spoken to you today through His word. I’ve already been super encouraged by those who have commented. It’s comforting to know we’re not alone. Even more so, I love the moments when we see God when we have felt stuck and stranded. Please share how He’s revealed Himself to you in the rut. I’ve left my comment below.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Treasuring Him!!

Love, Tammy

Here’s what the Lord has shown me in “assessing” Him today in regards to my spiritual “rut”:

God is my refuge in the rut. He is my place of safety even in the rut. He doesn’t change. It doesn’t matter where I go- He is there. Psalm 139:7-8 says “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me.”  I believe this promise!!

God is with me in the rut. Not only is He my place of safety, but He’s there with me. The greatest lie I can believe is that God abandons me in the rut. God is with me and I will not be moved. He has secured my place with Him for all eternity, not because of who I am, but because of what Christ has done on my behalf. I believe this promise!!

God may let me stay in the rut a while, but He will help me when morning dawns.” Sometimes He will leave us in the rut for a while, but not forever. He will pull us up and out by morning. I need to know and believe this truth. Psalm 30:5 says “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” I believe this promise!!

Stuck in a Spiritual Rut? Part 1

Have you ever been in a spiritual rut? Are you in one right now?

Webster dictionary defines a "rut" as:
1. a groove, track, etc., as made by wheels
2. a fixed, routine course of action or thought

In applying Webster's dictionary to a spiritual "rut" it may be defined as:
1. Going through the spiritual motions without really seeing any spiritual progress
2. Doing spiritual things in a monotonous sort of way without enjoying the pleasures of the doing

Does any of this sound familiar to you?  I usually know I am in a spiritual "rut" when I begin to have one or more of the following attitudes:

• going through the motions of praying and studying the word without a heart that is really willing to change in areas where I know or think its going to be painful
• seeking the Lord when its convenient for me (not making real sacrifices like waking early and fasting in order to have my attention and heart undivided to the Lord in both attention and appetite)
• withdrawing from accountability in order that I don't have to be confronted with the areas of my heart and mind in which I am compromising
• doing what is expected without participating in His power

For the next few days I will be blogging on HOW to get out of a spiritual "rut." I'm a visual learner, so I have a visual illustration to help us envision getting out of a spiritual "rut." If you have ever been in the country you may have seen a vehicle that had a contraption called a "winch" on the front of it. It looks similar
to this:

  

The purpose of a "winch" is to pull your vehicle out of the mud by attaching the cable or chain to a rock or tree. You can even use it to pull other vehicles out of the mud. The size of your cable determines how much power you will have in pulling yourself out of a rut or ditch.  We are told in 2 Peter 1:3 "that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness." As a child of God, you have been provided with more than enough power for any "rut" in which your stuck, no matter how shallow or deep.

I can't tell you how excited I am about this illustration. It has so many spiritual applications that can be drawn from it. It's the country girl in me!!! I remember seeing a "winch" used many times when I was young girl. It is a fascinating thing to see. These days I don't get out in the physical mud as much. Although, unfortunately, I find myself in spiritual "mud" more than I would like! If you're like me and would like to know HOW to get out of the rut you are in please join me over the next few days as we explore this process.

Before we get started with the HOW of the process, I would love to hear from you all. What do your spiritual "ruts" look like? Please share your thoughts and experiences. It will be helpful to us all to know that we are not alone in our struggles of dealing with spiritual "ruts." It will also help me as I apply this teaching to the different ways in which we struggle with "ruts." 

I so hope to hear from you!

With earnest expectation to get out of the rut!!  Love ya, Tammy