Has life beaten you down? Has life become routine? What are you going to do to change it? Do you realize that if you don’t get out of the rut it could destroy you. Yes, staying in a rut for too long will take away your life one chunk at a time.
We all have seasons where life just becomes routine. We are all prone to it. Even as a Christan serving God can become routine and then you feel guilty for feeling that way.
Are you serving but seem to be just going through the motions? Maybe you have taken your focus off Christ? Or maybe you feel that is all you do? We have to have some balance in our lives and that includes serving.
I know many pastors who take what they call a sabbatical. Sabbatical or a sabbatical (from Latin sabbaticus, from Greek sabbatikos, from Hebrew shabbat, i.e., Sabbath, literally a “ceasing”) is a rest from work, or a hiatus, often lasting from two months to a year.
Why do you think they do this? It is because they realize if they are going to stay strong in their leadership they are going to have to stay fresh. We can’t do everything all the time. We can only do what we can do then take a break when we need to. Even God took Sunday off for rest so if this is good enough for God and pastors then why isn’t it good enough for you?
I can hear you saying but you don’t understand my situation? Well maybe I don’t but what I do understand is that once you are in a rut you will only turn that rut into your grave. Staying in a rut for too long can result in you burning out at best and being in your grave at worst.
Am I exaggerating this issue? I don’t believe so. I have seen ruts ruining lives. I have seen people who took off for Christ at age 20 and then when you look them up at age 30 they are burnt out. Maybe they are still serving Christ and maybe they aren’t but either way they have been in a rut for so long that life has become dull.
So what do you do if you are in a rut in any area of your life?
1) Realize you are in a rut. There is nothing you can do until you realize that you are in the rut. You can’t overcome it because you don’t feel the need to change. You can only change when you admit where you are.
2) Pray for guidance. You may be saying shouldn’t this be first but unless you realize first you are in a rut, you probably will not pray over it and your heart won’t be there for God to work in it with you. Pray that God can lead you to the reasons why your rut exists and for the solution to it.
3) Sit down and figure out why. Once you realize you are in a rut and pray over it for guidance then you have to sit down and figure out why you are there. It could be just a small issue or it could be something major that needs to change. No matter how big or small this step is important so you know where to go.
4) Make a plan. The next thing you need to do is create a plan of action. Decide what you are going to change in your life to pull yourself out of the rut. Maybe you have to back away from work just a tad. Maybe you need to change the places you go or even the people you associate with. If every person you know is also in a rut then maybe there is a reason.
5) TAKE ACTION! This sounds logical but most people who make any kind of plan never take this step. Most people just talk about the changes they need to make but never have the will to actually make the changes. Why is this? I am not sure as I am in the same boat here. There are things that I also say I need to change but then go off and keep doing the same thing. It’s probably a little thing called habit.
I read something that someone wrote called habit and this is as close to habit as you can get:
I am your constant companion. I’m your greatest helper or your heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I’m at your command. Half of the tasks that you do you might as well turn them over to me and i will do them quickly and correctly. I’m easily managed, you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do them automatically. I’m servant of all great people and lord for all failures as well. Those who are great I have made great. Those who are failures I have made failures. I’m not a machine but I work with all the precision of a machine, plus the intelligence of a person. You may run me for a profit or you may run me for fun; it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will lay the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you I AM HABIT!
Was that powerful or what? Did that not hit the point of what habits can do to you? It is up to us to change our habits so that we can change our lives.
6) Monitor and adjust. Once you have taken action now is the time to monitor your results and adjust where you need to. None of us are perfect so we have to adjust all the time.Do you realize that even though an airplane has its course set, the plane is never going in the exact location it needs to? The plane has to constantly adjust its course so that it will arrive at its destination.
Like a plane, you too will have to adjust your life for the rest of your life if you are going to accomplish anything for God. God may have you in an area right now but as you grow he may need to move to a new area of your life so that he can take you to the next level. Don’t allow the rut you are in to determine your destination. Make the necessary changes your life needs right now so that you can stay on the course that God is leading you on.
Ask God to give you the wisdom you need to know if you are in a rut. If you are in a rut then ask God to give you the guidance you need to make the changes. Ask him to give you the courage you need to stick to the changes so that his will can be fulfilled. Ask him to come back into your heart right now so that he can help guide you to where he wants you to go. Say to him no matter where he may lead you, you will go! Now go!
Be Inspired or Be Left Behind!
Chris Benton