Getting Out Of Our Ruts
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God
has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
Years ago, an old
college professor threw out a zinger that continues to resonate to this day. He said, “Young
men and women, be careful of ruts. They
are graves with the ends knocked out.”
Wise words indeed. Whether young
or old, we are all susceptible to them, being the creatures of habit that we
are.
Ruts are deadly temptations to fall into (the status quo or
comfort zone) when God has an exhilarating and captivating plan that requires
constant stretching. There are emotional ruts…restaurant ruts…financial
ruts…marriage ruts…and yes, even spiritual ruts. The kind that cause our walk with God to grow more
stale than three week bread.
The Denver Zoo had a difficult decision to make
some time back. They were offered
the gift of a beautiful, large polar bear.
But there was no existing space for it.
They were in the middle of a fund-raising campaign to renovate the zoo
and in their renovation plans, they changed the strategy to include a
magnificent habitat for the polar bear.
In the meantime, the bear was put in a small, temporary cage. The cage
was so small that he could only take three steps, turn around and walk three
steps back. Because of the unforeseen
delays the construction took three years.
However, the enclosure was absolutely beautiful. It had everything; a small waterfall, caves,
and plenty space to move around. The
bear entered its new space.
It took three steps.
Turned around and took three steps.
Turned around and took three steps.
The rut pattern had formed. We are prone to become
conditioned to the fact that life is one way and that’s all that it will ever
be. Even polar bears aren’t exempt from
such a mindset.
It is also a good picture of how Israel got into ruts. In Judges 6, Gideon’s story
reminds us of such a season. They had
been beaten, battered and barraged so many times, victorious living seemed like
a pipe dream. Enters God. He starts with a “cowardly corporal” and
turns him into a “gigantic general.” In
God’s victory through Gideon, over 138,000 Midianites with several hundred
Israelites is a story for the ages. They
move from “rutters to routers” in a
short few weeks.
A.W. Tozer said, “God is looking for those through whom He can do
the impossible-what a pity that we
plan only the things we can do by ourselves.”
Today, God wants to break the ruts, self-imposed limits, and
elongated graves that paralyze us. It
starts when we see what a great God He is, what great things He can do, and how
limitless His work is through ordinary people like you and me. It is a lot more exciting than what we can do
on our own.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Name
your biggest rut.
2) What
area of trust and risk might God be inviting you to experience this week.
Consider reading the word of God today:
Copyright 2014 - Terry Risser
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