And
let us consider one another
to
provoke unto love and to
good
works.
Hebrews
10:24
When
around the age of eight, I remember how much I loved Sunday afternoon
car rides to see farmer relatives. My mother and grandmother sat in
the front seat of the car while my sister Kay and I sat in the back
seat, usually playing with our dolls that we had taken with us. The
highway took us only so far to whichever farm we were headed to, but
then we had to turn off onto dirt roads. That wasn't so bad unless
there had been a big rain. After those rains, most farmers were
happy to just stay home until there had been some drying-out time.
However, we never knew when it had rained in some areas. If the dirt
road looked smooth, it seemed it would be safe...how wrong could we
be. Sometimes there were ruts in the road where a farmer had braved
the terrible road conditions.
As
we had made the trip, my mother would venture forth anyway on the
road. If there were tire ruts, she would try to stay to the right or
left of them. I remember asking her one time why she didn't drive in
the two ditches. She explained that those ditches are actually
“ruts” and you never want to get stuck in ruts or you would be
forever trying to get out of them. I understood that better after we
drove into muddy ruts one day. We sat there until some farmer
spotted us and came to pull us out with his tractor. Kay and sat and
cried because we thought we would never see our home again. We did
get out of the ruts though but with a great deal of effort.
I
don't know how often I have said to someone, “I love my comfortable
rut.” There is a certain routine to most of our lives where we
have found a kind of comfort and security that may not be bad in
themselves unless we are happy to stay there, never budging or making
any effort to do anything different. For the most part, when we
speak of the ruts we find ourselves in, they aren't positive.
Let
me say that having a routine in one's life and being in a rut are not
necessarily the same things. Having a routine in life is often very
beneficial in getting things accomplished. There are certain things
I do on certain days of the week. I wash clothes on Monday, iron on
Tuesday, type the church bulletin by Wednesday with church that
night, grocery shop on Thursday, leave Friday as a free day, go to
the church on Saturday to run the bulletin and get things done for
the Sunday school department for the next day and then Sunday speaks
for itself. That to some folks would sound like a rut and it would be
unless I'm willing to shift some things around for the convenience of
others or when there are interruptions of some sort.
There
are some negative ruts we can get ourselves into without even
noticing it. I'll mention a few:
Rut
of Offense:
We
have known people who stay mad at someone, anyone all the time. If
they don't have someone to talk and gripe about all the time, they
aren't happy. When we get around them, we automatically know
who/what the conversation will be about. Perhaps you and I have
found ourselves in this rut at times but through God's help, we've
been pulled out of this destructive rut.
Rut
of verbal garbage:
Believe
it or not, this rut is something we Christians can get pulled into.
This rut doesn't have to be out and out cursing or even shady jokes
and innuendo. Christians are usually careful about those things.
I've been in settings with conversations going on where people are
talking about others, bringing up someone else's past junk, taking
others reputations apart piece by piece. We forget in such settings
that God is very present and hears every word. I've been in settings
where I felt like taking a bath after I got home as if I could wash
off the conversation I just took part in. Psalms suggests putting a
guard over our lips.
Rut
of church activity:
Please
don't misunderstand me on this one. Serving the Lord however He
leads is important for us to be a part of. Our service though can be
so routine that we don't even give the Lord a thought as we are
fulfilling certain activities. Singing in the choir can end up just
providing us with the best seat in the church during a service. I
play the piano for our services. I must admit that there are times I
play and that's it. I can play with rarely thinking about what I'm
playing and why. Some Sunday school teachers love that status and
have taught for years but it's become the same routine job being done
week after week. In this area, we need a real tug from the Holy
Spirit to get us back on track...the track of sincere service for the
Lord.
Rut
of comfort:
This
can be a bad one. For folks who have retired like I have, there's a
danger in sitting and doing nothing, thinking we've earned that time.
There is no where in Scripture where we are given permission to give
up on life and service for God. That place of comfort can make us
ill from being self-absorbed. We can become lazy, not available to
the needs of others and certainly not available to God's calling on
our lives. There's nothing wrong with a certain amount of comfort
but not to the point of shutting out all opportunities for having
meaning in the lives of others as well as for the cause of Christ.
Rut
of sin:
This
rut is a very personal one. I understand that sin is sin and God
hates it in us. I doubt that any of us have murdered anyone or
robbed any banks. We put things like that at the top of the Sin
List. The Lord isn't any happier with our bad attitudes, lack of
spiritual discipline, overeating, and anger than some of those biggy
sins...and on and on it could go.
Rut
of self:
All
of the other ruts mentioned could probably fall in this category.
When in the rut of self, our attitude is “I'm going to live life
like I want to live it and it's not of anyone's business.” That
statement might shut the mouths of our critics but the self absorbed
person will be happily settled into their own personal rut with no
thought for others or even for God Himself. This is one of the
hardest ruts to get out of because many times, we don't realize we're
in this one and it might take some convincing. When we recognize it,
we then have to want to do something about the problem. Our God is
the God of the impossible and can even give us victory over this rut,
but we must work together with Him to budge from this one.
No
matter the rut we might find ourselves in, the Holy Spirit stands
ready to convict us. We need to be listening to His prompting all
the time. He also will empower us to get out of whatever rut has
it's hold on us. Let's remember that the same Holy Spirit that
raised Jesus from the dead, is the same Spirit that resides in all of
us who claim Jesus as Savior. Through Him, we are more than
conquerors and we can walk in spiritual victory above and around the
ruts of life.
Dear
Father, I'm so grateful that You know me and You can help me move out
of my selfish ways. Thank You for loving me and forgiving me despite
my sinful ways. I love You...Amen
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