Psalm 40:2 (NLT)
He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
Do you ever feel like life is bogging you down into the muck and mire of stress and anxiety, from which escape seems impossible? If so, you’re not alone, and there’s hope.
I spent several years operating heavy equipment for a living. Sometimes, in building a lake, we would dam up a creek. This meant that, at one point, we would have to dig out all the mud where the dam would cross the creek. This would be the most critical and stressful part of the process. As we dug out all the mud from the creek, the looming potential of getting stuck was a constant struggle. The dozer I was operating weighed over 38,000 lbs. To give context, the average pickup truck weighs about 5,000 lbs. Some days I would literally struggle against the relentless, clinging mud all day long. The key was to learn how to navigate the ruts. Once I learned how to push through the ruts, I rarely got stuck.
The Reality of Worldly Ruts
This world you live in is covered in ruts. If you don't know how to spiritually navigate these ruts, you will easily get stuck. This is true not only for your spiritual life but also mentally, emotionally, relationally, and physically. The only way to navigate all these ruts in life is to develop and practice healthy habits. The challenge with healthy habits is that they require time and self-discipline. Your habits of devotion (prayer, Bible reading, fellowship, worship, etc.) are key to navigating the ruts of this world. You need your mind renewed every day by the Word of God. “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2, CSB).
Your habits of devotion are essential in helping you navigate these ruts by keeping your purpose and identity on the solid Rock of Christ Jesus. As you discipline yourself to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) you will be able to keep your life centered on the rock-solid ground of the Kingdom of God. Jesus preached about this in the Sermon on the Mount. “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock” (Matthew 7:24–25, CSB).
In damming up the creek there was a key turning point. Once we had dug all the mud out and established a solid clay foundation, we would begin to bring in and pack in more dry clay as we built the dam up. We called this “the core,” and it had to be built of solid clay so that the lake would hold water. When we built the core up to the level of the original creek we would put in a pipe. The pipe would then allow the creek to continue to flow as we built the rest of the dam. This meant the stress of the mud digging days were over.
Building on the Solid Rock
Just as digging out all the mud led to a solid foundation in my work, so too does pushing through the muck and mud of this life lead us to a more solid relationship with Jesus. I want to encourage you today if it seems like you’ve been stuck in the mud forever; keep pushing! Keep digging! Our God is an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1), ready and able to lift you out and set your feet upon the Rock. “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety” (Psalm 18:2, NLT).
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that once you get on solid ground, your life will be trouble-free. However, you will have much more stability and empowerment from the Holy Spirit as you push your way through your troubles. You don't have to live a life that is constantly bogged down in the muck and mire of this world. In Kingdom living, you're choosing to live your life on the Rock that is Jesus Christ. The storms will still rage against you, but your life will not collapse if it is built on the Rock.
Take a moment today and survey the ruts you’re trying to work through. How closely related are they to the Kingdom of God? Are they pulling you away from your disciplines of devotion? If you’re getting too bogged down in the mud, then it’s time to put it in reverse (repent), back up until you’re back on the solid ground of Kingdom living. I’ll leave you with this nugget of dozer truth. If you always push from the solid ground, you’ll never get stuck.
"He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken" (Psalm 62:6, NLT).