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When You’re Feeling Stuck
As you reflect on your own life and ministry, what are some ways that you have felt or feel stuck?
The phrase “feeling stuck” likely elicits a visceral reaction. It recalls a moment in the past or a feeling in the present when you feel stifled, pressed in, unable to progress, or held back from moving forward. It could be an elder team that is not seeing eye to eye with you on your vision for the church. It may be some kind of resistance from an individual or church member that you’ve been unable to find a resolution for. It could be that you’re in a situation where you don’t feel like your gifts are being used in a way that brings you much life and energy. It could be me right now, feeling kind of stuck trying to write this monthly column. Whatever the scenario, feeling stuck is a universal reality for everyone in vocational ministry.
I can think of no story in Scripture that speaks to this dilemma more than Joseph’s. From the time he was sold into slavery at 17 to the moment he began his role as “Vice Pharaoh” at age 30, Joseph saw 13 lost years drift by. It’s not a stretch to imagine Joseph as a slave in the house of Potiphar, reflecting on what his life had become. We can imagine him during his prison years, unjustly accused of attacking Potiphar’s wife, and how slow the days must have felt as his twenties faded into oblivion. Even after he came into his position as second in command under Pharaoh, it’s reasonable to wonder whether he thought, “This is not what I signed up for!” For all intents and purposes, Joseph is the story of a man who was stuck in a life he did not choose.
As you reflect on your own life and ministry, what are some ways that you have felt or feel stuck? Here’s what I’m going to propose to you: I wonder if there might be a different way to look at it? Without minimizing the authentic pain that comes with feeling/being stuck, I want to look at it from a more redemptive light.
Stuck or Stilled?
Think about it like this: What if your “stuckness” is actually God’s way of stilling you? What may feel like a dead-end road or a miry bog may be God simply stopping you in your tracks. When we feel the cement drying around our feet, it might be time to take an honest inventory of our pursuits. We have all heard the well-known words from Psalm 46, which contain this reverent refrain—“Be still, and know that I am God” (v. 10, ESV). We typically read this back to ourselves when we recognize our need to cease our striving and trust in God’s sovereign purposes for our lives. That’s not a bad response, either! But the passage is actually telling us that the Lord is the one who is responsible for stilling the nations (and us) and making His glory known. Wisdom calls us to look at some of the ways we feel stuck, and then be curious about what the Lord might be slowing us down to see and know.
After a particularly busy time for His disciples, Jesus intentionally stilled them.
“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat” (Mark 6:30-31).
What do you think your response to Jesus might have been at this moment? Many of us would have probably said something like, “C’mon, Jesus, we’re finally building some momentum here, don’t make us stop now!” And yet Jesus was intentionally drawing them from a place of measurable activity to a place of forced inactivity.
What are some soul-level developments a season of stillness might bring you?
You Will Hear His Voice Again
In our distracted cultural age, it’s good to have a season (yes, I said season, not just an hour or a day) where all the commotion dies down enough so that we can hear God’s voice speak clearly to us again. Our striving for even good things creates a running commentary in our minds that can drown out some of the quieter truths the Holy Spirit whispers into our hearts.
I recently entered a season where some significant things I had been working on for years (a dissertation and a couple of book projects) were finally completed. To be honest, it felt a bit disorienting, as I suddenly had more margin than I’ve had for years, both physically and mentally. My tendency was to immediately seek out the “next thing.” Thankfully, it dawned on me (with the help of my lovely wife, of course) that this season of stillness is God’s “next thing” for me! By embracing this, I have been able to reshift my focus to better serving our local church community, being more intentional with the spiritual disciplines, and consider some areas the Lord is calling me into deeper maturity.
“Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child” (Psalm 131:2).
You Will Gain a Renewed Perspective
We lose the plot so quickly in ministry. Since most of our work can be filed under “good” things, it’s easy for “bad” things to form in us if we’re not careful. In other words, piling on the work and filling up the calendar can provide the kind of validation we get easily addicted to. So, when something important needs to shift, be delegated to others, or let go of completely, we hold on for dear life and power through. Being stilled allows us to gain a renewed perspective. This reminds us of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10.
While Mary stilled herself before the Lord, Martha kept frantically working in the kitchen until her anxiety levels went through the roof. The Lord calls out Martha’s striving, but praises Mary’s stillness. It wasn’t that Martha’s serving was wrong; it was that she got the order wrong. There was an opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His voice, and Mary chose wisely. But what about serving Jesus? It needed to happen through servants who had spent time with Jesus. So does our serving.
Are you feeling stuck? Maybe the Lord is stilling you and calling you to a new season of growth and maturity.
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