Are You in a Rut?

"And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!" Exodus 32:9

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got."

I've heard this quote often in my life. Dana reminded me of it the other night and I let the words roll around in my mind (like a rolly-polly in the palm of a five year old). The words have a way of getting stuck in my mind so I carry them with me as I go about my day.

How often do we do the same thing only to get the same results? We set out to 'do different', 'make changes', 'be better' but we keep going down the same trail hoping to arrive at a different destination.

We parent the same way and expect more from our kids. We put the same old energy into our marriage and expect it to be more fulfilling. We work the same hours, doing the same things and thinking the same thoughts and wonder why we aren't being promoted. We eat the same things and wonder why we aren't reaching our physical goals. We read, watch, and listen to the same kinds of things and wonder why we don't feel more inspired or creative.

We get mad or frustrated by the same stuff and the same people without ever concluding that perhaps we are the common denominator in that equation. We do the same exercise or lack thereof and wonder why we are stuck in a fitness rut. We live and love and give in the same way and wonder why we never grow.

The Israelites kept walking in circles out in that desert. No wonder the Lord left them there for forty years waiting to make them into a holy and set apart nation. They wanted so badly to have a god they could see and touch and worship right then that they became impatient, ignorant and impossible. They were willing to bow down to anyone or anything just to have the ritual of worshipping, when what they were missing was the heart changing reality that the One and Only true God was with them, guiding and directing them and wanting them to become His great nation of people. They were so stubborn in doing what they had always done, striving to get different results but coming up empty.

Do you see traces of this in your life? I know I do. If we recognize it, maybe that is the first steps toward moving in a right direction. Maybe it's time to change it up and do different to get different. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to what needs to change to reach your full potential in all areas of your life.

I love you & He loves you more!

Lord, Your way is always best. May we seek You first as we make our plans knowing that the outcome will be satisfying and fulfilling in the end. Open our eyes so that we may see the areas in our life that need the most work. In Jesus' name. Amen.