Figuring It Out: Stuck

When I was living in Texas, and was in my 20s, and didn’t have kids, I decided that I could fix my own car. There was some noise that sounded a little like a coffee grinder coming from what I thought was the clutch. I had a repair manual (with pictures!) for my car and decided that possessing this manual gave me the ability to fix my own car. I thought to myself, “Anyone could look at a manual (with pictures!) and follow the instructions. How hard could fixing my clutch be?

Long story short, I got my car just to the point of undrivable and then I got stuck. I used hammers, sledge hammers, as much force as my 160 lb body could muster, and realized that I was stuck. So who did I call? My dad. First I asked advice. I tried his advice. I asked more advice. I tried again. After about the fifth phone call, my dad decided that he was going to come down (from Missouri) to help me fix my car.

My dad helped me and we fixed my car together. He ended up needing to stay for four days. It turns out that the noise wasn’t coming from the clutch. Oh well.

I like reading self-help blogs, here’s  a nice one on getting unstuck on your own.

The problem with self-help is that sometimes, you can’t help yourself. Sometimes we encounter problems that are too big for us too handle. Sometimes we get stuck in life and getting unstuck isn’t something we can do by ourselves.

So, who do you go to when you’re stuck? Do you have anyone? I realize that it matters what the situation is. If my dad didn’t know cars, I would still call him for advice on what to do, I just wouldn’t expect him to be able to intervene and fix the problem. Do you have one person that you go to when you can’t move on a hard situation? Why him or her?

Do you go to God when you’re stuck?

The reason that I call my dad about car stuff is two-fold. First, it gives me an excuse to talk to my dad. Second, I know that he is for me. He’s not going to try to sell me a muffler if I ask him about a hole in my exhaust. He’s not going to blow me off because he’s bored or busy. My dad loves me, cares for me, and wants what’s best for me.

God is for you. Passages like Zephaniah 3:17 remind me that God isn’t waiting to judge me when I make a mistake – instead, He actually rejoices in me.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save, he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love: he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

We also know from passages such as Matthew 7:7-11 that we can trust God because, even if you don’t have a good example of a loving father in your life, God is a loving Father.  He doesn’t desire to trick us or harm us. He wants us to go to Him because He desires to care for us. Before we even knew we were stuck, before we even knew what we really wanted, God sent His Son to die for us. Looking at God’s track record, there’s is no one we should trust more to aid us in our time of need.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11

My prayer for you is that you can go to God in confidence, knowing that He truly wants what’s best for you.

P.S. My next post will explore when we should go to the people that God has put in our lives for help when we’re stuck.