Have you ever been at a place and time in your life where everyday seemed to linger longer than the last? Tasks seemed to take forever or completing them feels as if you are wading through molasses? Nothing is moving. Nothing is changing. Nothing gives way to something better. Prayer, fasting and the discipline of bible reading feels like you are locked in a suffocating room with no air, no sunlight and no sound except your own breathing and heartbeat? If so, you just might be stuck.

The dictionary I found on the world wide web describes being stuck in this way. ”To be stuck is to be fixed in a particular position or unable to move or be moved. To remain in a static condition, fail to progress; to become fixed in one place as a result of an obstruction. You are unable to progress with a task or find an answer or solution to something.” Often this kind of stuck relies on our own human strength to navigate around said object, or pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to start again. The lack of progress is ours to own and therefore we must be the ones to fix it, change it, or find a solution to the problem itself.

The bible on the other hand describes it as a wilderness adventure. Complete with long winding roads that have many twists and turns, places of lack but where every need is met, deep dark valleys and yet the light shines sometimes so beautifully there, and yes sometimes just miles and miles of nothing except you and Jesus.

There are a lot of ways to be stuck. We can be stuck in a situation, a job, a relationship or a mindset. We can be stuck financially, emotionally, physically. Being stuck doesn’t equate to quitting or giving up. Just because you may be stuck does not mean you have to throw in the towel or that you have reached the end. Being stuck though; is sometimes a result of things we have allowed or entertained. Sometimes it is a result of situations or circumstances we find our selves in. While pondering this great debacle of being stuck several things come to mind, these are things that people experience during difficult moments that can lead to being stuck if not handled well. Also, these are things that we allow or dare I say choose that can keep us from moving forward. Some of these are:

Unforgiveness / anger – it can be at circumstances, self or others who have caused us distress or pain

Fear – of failing or succeeding at the very thing you hope for

Believing lies – lies the enemy feeds you can lead to unbelief or coax us into a lack of faith

Distraction – facebook, insta, tik tok, twitter (now x), and all the others out there

Apathy / Complacency – lack of enthusiasm or interest in outcome. No dog in this fight. No need to get involved

Laziness / Comfort – unwilling to work or use energy towards something / too comfortable / the way forward feels hard

Boredom – we are thrill junkies who are in it for the moment. We are not long haulers. Tedious tasks cause us to be bored and we lose interest quickly

Directionless – lack of vision for your future or no purpose currently and no knowledge of how to create a vision or move forward toward one

I have found in times like these there are two kinds of people. The ones with blinders and a sand box for safety; they don’t want to talk about it or feel it or know any of the details of it. That way they can function and move forward. Then there are the others. The ones who need to know the details. Insist that knowing it all will bring peace and closure and help arrange the troubled thoughts into some kind of order so it can be categorized and laid to rest. They go over and over it with a fine tooth comb looking for inconsistency and truth to be able to say it is finished. Either one, really neither one; is the wrong way or the right way. It just is. However; both of these types can become stuck.

In this wilderness adventure there will be places where you back track or go back over familiar ground in an attempt to get to the “promised land” aka the next new thing and find yourself back where you started. Breakthrough becomes your mantra and if not careful we can prolong the “adventure” by grumbling and complaining about the length of time or lack of movement in any direction. Here every insecurity, every idea, every belief, every motive of your heart that does not line up with scripture will be exposed and tested. You will be asked to make decisions that feel contrary to human nature, to what you want, with the promise that on the other side is something better; something you may of never chosen but is ultimately the best for you. This adventure is the only place where you will never walk without guidance, without support, without help to navigate the length and breadth of this place called the wilderness. Here in this place there is provision, a light for the path forward, helping hands in the form of friends, songs of sorrow, songs of joy, scripture that resonates, scripture that heals, scripture that changes the very marrow of your being. I don’t know about you but I would rather be on an adventure with God where I can safely process my life issues, navigate what got me stuck, while being divinely taken care of rather than being stuck with the world with only my own strength and knowledge to get me out.

IF we submit to the process during this journey in the wilderness; which can be uncomfortable and painful, AND embrace what God is attempting to accomplish in and through us (growth, healing, redemption, restoration) we will find ourselves on the other side and moving into the promise God has for us. However, if we grumble and complain, wallow around in our own stuff, or try to forgo the process altogether we may find ourselves wandering longer or going around and around the same bush until we surrender and allow the work of the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts; remove the junk we have accumulated and make us into a greater likeness of Jesus.

Copyright©2025 Melanie McKinley (The Salty Pen & Press).  All Rights Reserved