“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works”.

Hebrews 10:23-24

One of the greatest blessings I have as a Volunteer Chaplain at the jail is that I often learn much more from the inmates than they learn from me. And this past week, out of the blue one of them had such profound words – “you can take one step forward and two steps back but you’re never stuck unless you stop”. And as much wisdom as I’m sure I left with them, those words of wisdom from Lisa clutched tightly to my heart.

Because unbeknownst to any of them, I had been struggling – struggling with the feeling of being stuck! I am sure God knew that I needed to hear that! And I’m thankful that Lisa somehow knew that too!

I believe that tug of war with hopelessness affects everyone at some point. Whether it’s health habits, relationships, jobs, or spiritual disciplines…we all can feel stuck by moving one step forward but two steps back. Sometimes we just get comfortable and don’t have the drive to move forward. Other times we maybe don’t know how to move forward. And yet for others it could be too painful to think about moving forward. In reality though, we are not stuck until we stop. We are not stuck until we lose our faith, lack belief, or put off our dreams and desires to settle for what is.

And we are privileged to have promises from God to help us get unstuck. We have a promise of Hope! A promise that when we ask, He hears and answers. A promise that when we draw near to Him, we experience the power of Christ. A promise that everything required to move forward- knowledge, wisdom, strength, endurance – comes from Him. And a promise that He will faithfully guide us, supply us, and never deny our pleas when we “hold tightly without wavering” to Him.

God promises that in our weakness, He is strong and when we feel defeated, we can trust Him for victory! He sees us and hears us and puts other people in our paths to encourage us! He wants us to succeed!

Lisa’s words were a breath of fresh wind for me. I’ve dug in to the discipline I had been putting off and am seeking new opportunities. But my ultimate hope remains in the fact that Jesus has a purpose for me! He has a purpose for you too! And He will take every trial, every victory, every person that you interact with, every experience you have whether it’s good or bad, and use it for His glory. But you have to be willing to move. You can’t just settle for going back and forth. You have to take hold and inch your way forward to get to the other side.

Do you believe it is possible? Do you believe it will be rewarding? Do you believe that you can trust God to do what only He can do? Then, what are you waiting for? Grab hold and go! You are able because He is Faithful!

#SaturdaySoulSearch