Unstuck: The Crucible Projectნიმუში

Feeling Stuck

I’ll never forget the feeling when Billy’s Bronco hit that pit. The exciting morning ground to a halt. We still had hope that we could get ourselves out, but for the moment, we were completely stuck.

Let's take a look at what Paul wrote when he was stuck:

“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18b-19, NIV)

I suppose we could consider it “good news” that we are not the only people who sometimes feel stuck. In Romans, chapter seven, the Apostle Paul describes his own journey of wanting to live a certain way and yet not being able to do so. It really does seem to be a universal human condition.

Sometimes we feel stuck between doing what is right and wrong. But more commonly, we feel stuck trying to make an improvement to our lives that is just not coming easily. For example, we want to eat healthy, but instead we keep ordering our favorite comfort foods. We want to take a career leap but fear the unknown. We want to stop an unwanted behavior, but find ourselves engaged in it again simply out of habit. We want to improve our relationship, but we keep falling into the same painful cycles.

What is it like for you when you feel stuck? Maybe you wish you could buy smaller-sized clothes, have more money at the end of the month, or get that promotion or job offer. Maybe there are problems in your marriage that you just don’t know how to fix, or you can’t seem to find the time or energy to be the great parent you want to be to your children. Maybe you just want to rest well at night, yet sleep eludes you. Perhaps most frustrating, you want a better relationship with God—the one who loves you more than anyone—yet it feels just outside of reach.

There is a paralysis that happens when we are stuck; we want to do the right thing, but we get distracted by looking at the wrong things. Sometimes making a good decision is better than no decision at all.

Challenge: Where do you feel stuck today?