WHAT ABOUT A CHANGE??

Psalm 121:1-2 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”

In his book Day By Day Charles Swindoll tells about a sign along an Alaskan highway that has an unusual, attention-getting message which reads, “Choose Your Rut Carefully . . . You’ll Be In It For The Next 150 Miles.”

So what is a rut? Being in a rut is a type of boring habitual behavior. (As when the wheels of a buggy travel in the ruts worn into the ground by other buggies making it easiest to go exactly the way all the other buggies have gone before.)

Can we get into a rut? On the website My Success Company by Dave Anderson, he gives some thoughts about being in a rut:

1. You might be in a rut if you can't remember the last time you tried something for the first time.

2. You might be in a rut if you compare yourself to others more than to your former self.

3. You might be in a rut if you've become comfortable living a life filled with goals mostly unrealized.

4. You might be in a rut if find yourself playing the victim.

5. You might be in a rut if you haven't made a big mistake lately.

Have you ever felt your life was in a rut? I think there are many people who feel that way. They get up in the morning, which they don’t necessarily like and go a job they don’t necessarily like, work all day with people they don’t necessarily like, come home to family they sometimes don’t necessarily like, and even on the weekend go to church with people they don’t necessarily like. Their life is in a rut.

Even though we might not be in a rut to that degree, if we were really honest about it, we are or have been in a rut to one degree or another. The sad thing is that many who are in a rut don’t know what to do about it. They might even go on in that rut week after week, month after month, and even year after year. So what should a person do? How can a person get out of a rut?

The first thing a person has to do is recognize that a rut exists. When a person looks at their life, everything might look fairly good. In most cases, their life may revolve around “religious” activities. They go to church, have Christian friends, and may even be involved in some kind of ministry to others. But the rut of religious activity can even bring a numbness to a person’s soul to the place where they need something special from the Lord.

Can you relate to that? If so, you like many others need some help. And from where or who does that help come? Verse 2 of Psalm 121 reads, “My help cometh from the LORD. . .”

In the Treasury Of David comment on this verse we read: “Jehovah who created all things is equal to every emergency. . .” Aren’t you glad of that? There is nothing that can come into your life for which God is not capable of helping. He is the source of our help.

We read in Hebrews 13:6 “So that we may boldly say The Lord is my helper, . . .” He is the source of our help and notice the strength of that help in verses 5-6 of Psalm 121 “The LORD is thy keeper the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.” “Thy keeper” reveals that God protects against our enemy and the rest of verses 5-6 shows that He protects against the elements. The source of our help is surely great enough to get us out of the rut. We just have to have a personal, daily walk with Him.

And how do we have a personal, daily walk with the Lord? It’s through His Word. When a believer is in a spiritual rut, God has become distant to him. As I often say, it’s easy for us to get to the place where our Christianity is chiefly practice on Sunday when we attend “Baptist Mass.” Christianity is more than a “Sunday Ritual.” It’s a daily walk with the Lord through the pages of His Word.

The Word of God must become “sweeter than honey to my mouth.” (Ps 119:103) It must furnish “light. . . lamp” in times of darkness (Ps 119:105). The Bible must become a weapon we depend upon in our warfare with Satan and the flesh (Eph 6:17).

To sum up the importance of God’s Word in our relationship to God, the Apostle Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

If a believer is having a personal, daily walk with the Lord through His Word, I believe the rut will be avoided. The child of God will not be going through life routinely. He will be growing and will be experiencing new heights of victory in his life.

To make room for your time with the Lord, you may have to change some of your activities. I’ve heard someone say, “If you’re too busy for God, you’re too busy.” Plan your life around priorities.

Charles Swindoll: “Filter out the essentials from the incidentals and reestablish your walk with Christ.”

That’s the way to avoid getting into a rut. It’s also how to get out of that rut.

That’s my view; how about you?