Have you ever felt stuck? It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Of course, there are many different ways of getting stuck. Our daily lives can get stuck, and we find ourselves doing the same routine over and over again without being able to invent a new one. Our careers can get stuck, and there seems to be no way up or out. Or we can get stuck trying to get certain things accomplished due to circumstances beyond our control.
No control.
That’s an issue for many of us. We hate losing control, and we do lose control when we need things that are up to others. Then, when they seem to procrastinate, mess up, or drop the ball altogether, we get stuck. Sometimes you can do something about it, and sometimes you can’t.
That’s especially true when you have what our True Identity Personality Profile calls a Powerful temperament. It’s on par with choleric, lion, type A, or any other strong personality type.
I have one of those, so I can relate. I thrive on getting things done and checking them off my list. I love finished tasks, achievements, and accomplishments. I get frustrated when things are stuck, and I can’t do anything about it, when I have to wait for others to do their part, and it seems to take forever. Our preparations for relocating to Kenya are full of stuckness. The establishment of the Charitable Trust is in the hands of the Kenyan government now. Raising $600,000 is out of our hands since we have no proven formulas for fundraising, and it’s up to others to give. Work permits and other logistical aspects can’t move forward until the Charitable Trust is in place and we have raised the necessary funds. Stuckness left and right!
But that is precisely why God puts us into positions like that. In my frustration with “things not moving forward,” I asked the Lord to show me how to pray when I get stuck because I knew that grumbling and complaining would not be to His liking. As I was tootling along and praying in my car on my courier route, I received three one-word directives in answer to my question: Praise. Thanksgiving. Delight.
They represented the vantage point to pray from when we face situations we have absolutely no control over.
We praise God for His limitless power and wisdom, which He employs to act on our behalf. That includes acting in and through other people over whom we have no control.
We thank God for His constant grace – His delight in acting on our behalf.
We delight in the outcomes of His actions on our behalf as gifts from our heavenly Father.
Those outcomes are many. First and foremost, God’s actions on our behalf to get things accomplished are far beyond what we can ever do, think, or imagine. Therefore, we have to humble ourselves and rely on God’s way and timing instead of ours.
Secondly, He wants His children to intentionally depend on Him. “Apart from Me, you can do nothing,” said Jesus to His disciples (see John 15:5), and that was to be the life motto for all His followers. Our sinful nature prizes self-reliance, and especially for those with a Powerful personality, it’s a struggle to give that up.
Thirdly, He wants to develop the patience of our faith. Faith does not grow by the instant gratification of our needs. It grows by patiently waiting for God to complete His work – out of sight – until what we are waiting for is done.
Fourthly, He wants to deepen our understanding of how He works, often in and through people, so we pray more specifically next time.
Fifthly, He wants us to bless people who are supposed to do things for us by praying for them, not to push, harass, or criticize them.
Sixthly, He wants us to proclaim His excellencies. he wants us to share the news of what He has done for us and how He did it so that others can marvel at a God Who acts on our behalf and give Him glory.
That’s six ways of growing through surrendering our stuckness to God! And there are probably more.
The next time you get stuck, don’t see it as a failure like I tend to do. Don’t let it become a reason to get frustrated with others and grumble. Embrace it as God’s purpose. Let it drive you to praise, give thanks, and delight, and look for the spiritual growth lessons God wants you to learn.
That way, stuckness leads to blessedness!
Photo credit: Christofer Maximilian/Unsplash.com