I'M STUCK

Some of you have heard me speak of Donald, my 2-year-old grandson.   Well, he is learning to speak, and a couple months ago we were thrilled when Donald could say his first two to 3-word sentence, depending upon how you count the conjunction.

·       So, he was sitting in his hi-chair after finishing lunch, and he wanted to get down.  So he said, “I’M STUCK.”

1.    When he was done swinging in his swing, and wanted out, “I’m stuck.”

2.    When he was trying to put on his coat, and he pulled it over his face, and could not get out, “I’M stuck.”

3.    And when he literally locked himself in the bathroom, “I’m stuck.”

Today’s reading from the Book of Romans describes Abraham, the great Old testament patriarch.  Some of you know that like Donald, Abraham was stuck.  Back in those ancient days 4500 years ago, fulfillment in life was not based on your pedigree, nor your income, nor your car, nor your notoriety.  Success in life was based upon your children. Abraham, and his wife Sarah, were stuck because they had tried to have children for years and years, and had failed. However, God had given Abraham and Sarah a solemn promise, that their descendants would one day be as numerous as the stars in the sky.  However, three was a problem with this promise—and that was that Sarah was 90 years old, and Abraham was 100. So, they were stuck between the reality of geriatric biology, and God’s promise which seemed impossible.  And being stuck just tormented them. They wanted to believe God, and felt alienated from Him because of the reality of their ages. Both Abraham and Sarah felt like failures in the eyes of others, as well as in their own eyes.

I know of a friend who is stuck…. imprisoned in a big hole of his own making. It started out as some difficulties at work and some irresponsible financial decisions.

After months of struggle, his anger and self-condemnation have begun to spread to his relationships, thereby isolating him from others, who might actually be able to help him; but no, he wants to solve the problem by his own self, and he continues to make bad decisions that dig him in deeper and deeper. Now, he is emotionally paralyzed. He is between a rock and a hard place where all options look bad.

Now, in this regard, I am also stuck.  You see, I feel helpless to help him. Oh, I have all sorts of, “quote,” great ideas, “unquote,” which could actually help; but he doesn’t like any of them. So now, I am stuck—and I feel helpless and anxious about my friend, and where all this is leading him.

I imagine that at one time or another, all of us have felt and will feel stuck. Sometimes, we can, as delineated by Charles Stanley, find ourselves in a pickle, or up against the wall, or that we have painted ourselves into a corners.

·       Some of us, or maybe someone we love, might be stuck in a hurtful & destructive relationship.

·       Some of us are stuck in grief, as we mourn the loss of a departed loved one.

·       Others of us might be stuck in unemployment, or under employment, or in a dead end job.

·       I hear from many of us who feel stuck by daily schedules, which demand more time than what we have.

·       Still others of us feel stuck in problems of pour own making, or of that of a loved one, which we feel helpless to change.

·       Some of us feel stuck by negative opinions of others, who have put us down, and of whom we give too much credibility.

And when we get stuck in life-if we see no way out, a number of things result:

·       Some of us, like the man I described, actually isolate ourselves from others, which only makes our problems seem more intense.

·       Others of us may make bad decisions, which only makes the situation worse; or we just resign ourselves to continued unhappiness.  As a result, anger, alienation, alcoholism, addiction and other poisons may destroy any possibility of hope.

However, hopelessness is more of a state of mind than a reality for those who love Christ Jesus.  We were made by God and put on earth for a purpose, a God-given purpose, one which began when we are born, and one which will continue until we ascend to heaven.  Now, that purpose is often broader than what we think, especially when we feel chronically stuck. When I feel stuck, the Lord frequently gives me a reminder of his truth from the prophet Jeremiah.  Please repeat after me.  “I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. // Plans to prosper you, not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.”

·       You see, Jesus knows what it’s like to be stuck. He was stuck with nails upon the cross, and then imprisoned in a stone cold tomb.  But then we broke the chains of death and rose from the dead that he might liberate us from all that imprisons us.  Yes, he frees us from the punishment of sin, but when we turn to Him, he can free us in so many other ways.

Why is it that some people have hope, when there seems to be no hope?  It is because they have belief—belief in a Savior who open doors, when the world closes them in our faces. I have been privileged to know a number of people, who were in hopeless situations, who overcame their problems by faith in the Risen Lord.

·       George & Cathy had been estranged in their marriage for years, until one day their children encouraged them to seek Christian counseling. Through this, we grew to forgive one another and found renewal in their relationship.

·       Joel is a man who will never stop grieving for his son, who died of a drug overdose. However, after much prayer and pastoral care from his pastor and church, he has grown to find purpose in supporting others dealing with addiction in their families.

·       During these hard economic times, I know of several people who could not find jobs for years. They feared that they would never recoup what they had lost. But some of them, decided that they would not only be open to something different, but that they would actively explore new possibilities.  They kept looking, searching, learning and waiting until the right door was opened.

These are just some of the stories that we don’t hear about, which are shining rays of hope.  You see, to all comes back to Jesus who claimed, “I came that you might have a full and rich and meaningful life—a life not of scarcity, but of abundance. 

This is the way that Rick Warren puts it:

What gives me the most hope every day is God's grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.