Tea Time for Your Soul logo


Order Debi Newman's paperback books and Kindle ebooks on Amazon


Select A Topic:

 

 

 

Dr. Newman Amazon books
Back to Main Topics Page | Amazon Author Page | Subscribe to Emails | Report Broken Link | Site Map | Home


Getting Unstuck

I can almost guarantee every one of you reading this knows the kind of day I am having. I'm just not doing what I know I should be doing. I'm eating junk that is making my stomach sick. I'm watching TV, when I have a list of stuff that needs my attention more. I've developed a headache, and when I'm not feeling guilty for the way I'm living this day, I'm feeling tired. I would go take a nap if I thought I could go to sleep.

It's Monday and I've just returned from a Retreat where I was able to both spend quality time with God and with my son. I had a wonderfully draining weekend. To make matters worse, one of the things of my list of “Things to Do” is to write a spiritual article for Tea Time For Your Soul. I honestly thought of sending an old one. Then I remembered; this is a valuable lesson for all of us. Paul confessed the reality of sin he struggled with in Romans 7:19-21 “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”

What do you do when you keep doing what you know you don't need to be doing, and you don't do what you know you should?

  1. Recognize the power of your sin nature. (Romans 7:21-23) You would think today would have been a day of spiritual blessing. I've spent quality time with God. I couldn't sleep on the retreat, so I ended up passing the time praying. I felt connected with God all weekend and saw Him at work in many ways. When I woke up this morning. rested, in my own home; I experienced the let down of disconnection to God. I forced myself to spend time with Him, but was plagued by distractions. I tried to fight it, but gave into the“Here's something easier...” thoughts that led me away from Him. It wasn't until 2:00 p.m. that I took the time to recognize what was going on. I've been making choices to give into the thoughts of my sin nature. With each choice I've put more and more distance between myself and God, and moved deeper into despair.
  2. Ask for Rescue. (Romans 7:24) Even earlier in the day I had been crying out for rescue. I didn't like what I was doing, but I didn't really mean it. Sometimes we have to hit bottom before we will call out to God and mean it. We can say we don't like the choices we are making with our lives, but what we mean is we don't like the consequences of the choices. God waits until we honestly cry out to Him. He knows when we are really asking for rescue and when we are simply asking for Him to make it easier on us to do our own thing. When I finally asked for Him, He showed Himself to me.
  3. Put one foot in front of the other. (Romans 7:25) Now you are awaiting for the last step to getting unstuck. You are wanting to know the powerful secret to automatic spirituality. Guess what? There's no such thing. Paul says just keeping thanking God all the while you try to live for Him knowing that your sinful nature is still there trying to trip you up. Thank God that you don't have to be held prisoner to your sinful nature. Thank God that He is there to rescue you. Thank God that although your life is not totally victorious over sin, you can have victory over one sin at a time, if you live in and through Him.

So, I'm officially unstuck. I've completed this article and I’ll move into the other stuff of my day. Let God show you how to get unstuck in your life.

 

 

Respond to Dr. Newman's article


Copyright © 2001-2021. Deborah R. Newman. All Rights Reserved.

All material on this website is copyrighted. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication (or article) may be reproduced without written permission.
Request permission to reprint an article.