Diverse Group of Women linking arms and standing in solidarity

10 Ways We Can Get Stuck

Stuck : Caught or held in a position so you cannot move.

We get stuck hyperfocused on the one thing that will make us better. You know you do this if you find yourself saying…My only way out is…. OR If _________ doesn’t happen then I am out of luck…OR..I have to get this or it’s hopeless. The trouble with this kind of thinking is that we are so focused on one thing that we miss The One thing. When we do this we limit what we can do and what God can do to help get us unstuck.

We get stuck thinking there is nothing I can do. We often think about everything we can’t do, rather than everything we can. This is what started all the problems in the first place, right? In the garden Adam and Eve were given this great space to frolic and play, a paradise, and rather than looking at everything they could do, they only saw what they couldn’t do. That one tree. We can’t partake of that one tree. Looking at what we can do rather than what we can’t do keeps our lives out of the rut. But instead we think about all the ways we are powerless and have no control.

We get stuck in the past. We make choices based on what we have experienced so our past determines our present. We haven’t had success, so we will never have success. It never works out, so it will never work out. I always get hurt, so I will get hurt every time. This is learned helplessness to the nth degree.

We get stuck blaming others. It’s everyone else’s fault I am still doing this. Its their fault for being losers. They are flakes. They never show up. What choice do I have, but to sit here and be disappointed by the people in my life? A lot of times it is easier to blame others than it is to blame who really holds responsibility.

We get stuck in our own negativity. We can’t seem to stop thinking about all the ways life sucks, how everything is going wrong and how nothing is going right. Nobody likes me – everybody hates me- think I’ll go eat some worms.

We get stuck comparing and that lands us in a major pity party. We feel so sorry for ourselves because we never get what everyone else seems to. We always lose out. We always get the short end of the stick. We always have bad luck. So we get stuck listening to emo music and journaling about how sorry our lives are compared to  other people.

We get stuck in the someday. Someday I will try hard. Someday I will quit. Someday I’ll get better. Someday, we will live.

We get stuck in the impossible. We get stuck not seeing past our current circumstance. We high center on what is, rather than what could be. We get stuck believing “This is my life. Nothing will ever change.” We often see only impossibilities rather than possibilities.

We get stuck spiritually – thinking God won’t do anything about this, He hasn’t yet. What good is He? Where has he been? We get stuck saying “I will try these options first then if all else fails, I will turn to God.” We get stuck thinking “You aren’t for me Jesus” or “I can’t let you in God, you’ll change everything”.

We get stuck needing help and never asking. Instead of utilizing the help standing in front of is, we remain silent and quiet hoping someone will help, but never ask of God or others.

This is not an exhaustive list of the many ways we get stuck. But it is enough to get you thinking and hopefully prompt you to ask of the Lord how you might be stuck and what is keeping you there. Say yes to God’s invitation to get unstuck, doing your part and then allow Him to do what you cannot.  He is a God who desires for us to be unstuck, freed up and fully alive! If any of these describe you, allow Jesus to meet you right where you find yourself.

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