Have you ever felt like your life was stuck in a rut?
Spinning Tires
You know what I mean like those trucks, who for fun get stuck in the mud, and then spin their wheels trying to get out.
Same Old Comfortable Routine
We find ourselves going through the motions of life.
We wake up.
We eat, drink, work, exercise, brush our hair and our teeth, etc.
We read God’s Word, pray, discuss what we are learning with our friends and attend Church regularly.
We serve others within Church programs and local community programs.
We go to bed.
Repeat – while feeling like we are “going nowhere”.
Until that morning we wake up and say “Enough is enough. No more spinning of the wheels in my life.”
What Should We Ask For
We know something isn’t quite right, with our heart attitudes.
We know whatever it is, it has to be changed.
So we ask God (whom we know we can fully trust, rely and depend upon to have our best interest at heart) to show us what it is and what we must either do differently or stop doing altogether – to accomplish the change we need.
“GOD, PLEASE CHANGE MY HEART AND GET ME OUT OF THIS RUT”
Insanity
Keep in mind this definition of what insanity is: “Doing the exact same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.”
Easy Example
To continue overeating and expecting to lose weight at the same time. Today, we will have breakfast and chocolate, lunch and cake, supper and candies, and finish with a snack and ice cream. Then we wonder, why has the number on the weight scale gone up yet again?
Insanity Stops Here
For the easy example — The “Overeating Be Skinny” diet does not exist. To lose, gain, or maintain your weight one must make an INTENTIONAL decision to change what they are doing – to watch what they are eating, to add exercise, drink water and get the proper amounts of rest and sleep. This formula hasn’t changed.
Back to My Heart Attitude Rut
I found myself in prayer asking God, “What can I do differently to get out of this mud?
God’s Answer to My Prayer
Shortly afterward, I was in a Second Hand shop where I picked up a little book called “God’s Psychiatry” by Charles L. Allen. (He was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in downtown Houston for 23 years. And the author of 40 books.)
In this book, the author shares how his friend (a psychiatrist) would send all his tough cases to him. His friend’s hope was that he would have something to offer that could actually make a difference in their lives.
He would pray for each of these people and give them a ‘prescription’.
As You know, prescriptions come with directions of “how to be taken” and “for how long.”
Charles L. Allen’s Answered Prayer: This ‘Prescription’
Psalm 23
The Directions
Meditatively reflect on each line of Psalm 23 — 5 times a day for 7 days. (Think amoxicillin – when prescribed we are to take it for the full 10 days until its finished.)
The Best 5 Times A Day (As Suggested by Charles L. Allen)
- Upon waking
- After breakfast
- After lunch
- After supper and
- Before going to bed.
[You could make your own list of times but this is what I found worked for me.]
Meditatively Reflect?
This means to read this Psalm slowly and actually think about what you are reading.
Okay
Since, I can and have followed the directions given to me by my Doctor when I need to get well again — thinking of a lung infection that I had which wasn’t going to go away by rest and chicken noodle soup.
No More Spinning Wheels
I took the medicine – for 7 days I meditatively read the words of “Psalm 23” — 5 times a day.
While Taking the Medicine
— I began to realize that my “trusting of God” had become somewhat tarnished by the cares of everyday life.
— That, my relying on Him had turned to “God I need this, God I need that, God why aren’t you doing this, God change my life without me having to do anything (back to that imaginary diet – let me eat anything I want as much as I want and still lose weight) which culminated in a faulty belief: “I know God that You answer personal prayers and that You will do so for others” (— We often don’t like to call things what they really are but it is part of the “getting better” process.
— You can add whatever is causing you to feel like you are spinning your life wheels in the mud.
— [For some this may mean taking a course to learn something new for a different job, learning a different child training technique or maybe it is to give up on the hope for an all you can eat diet, or the need of some exercise, …]
Back to the Medicine
Day 1 – just got out of bed – “THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT …”
WOW!
After the first day I felt so much better and wanted to understand more the power of these words.
So next week, we will unpack the power contained in this powerful pill (Psalm).
What, have you done differently, to help you get out of a rut and stop spinning your wheels?
One of the best things I find I can do when I feel this way is to get my mind off myself and help someone else.
I agree with you, Mary Anne. I actually find it
amazing, how getting ourselves off of our mind and helping someone else, really helps. It seems to provide us with an opportunity to recharge so when we do come back to look at our circumstances they don’t seem to be so unsurmountable.
Hi this is a lot like a blog post I wrote about getting stuck in the rut of negative self-talk! I find it fascinating when our Great God sends the same idea to people writing different articles! We have a connection with Jeff Goins and the Intentional Blogging Course. I love how our Great God connects His people!
I agree, Dixie, it is amazing how God connects us. I read your blog post “Change Your Mind It’s Good for Your Health” (https://littlestepstohealth.com/) and I thought the quote you chose by Dana Demetre is also fitting for this post “to feel, or act differently we must purposefully think new thoughts and take new action.”