Stuck In A Rut?

How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

(Psa 1:1-3)

The past few years have many feeling 'stuck' or 'in a rut' when it comes to their personal and professional lives. According to research, rates of depression have risen dramatically as the effects of a shutdown have impacted everything from the way we work to the way we now live. Shopping, entertainment, travel, and basic human interaction have been affected. Another sad, sidenote: divorce rates worldwide have more than doubled during the pandemic. From a Christian worldview, the church has seen a dramatic decline in attendance that was already in full retreat before the pandemic but now has seen an even greater falling away from those whose lifestyles changed during the shutdown. Today, more Christians harbor apostate thoughts about the Bible, salvation, and Jesus Christ ever before. 

Satan does his best work with people in isolation, discouraged, and doubting. Our culture is now more susceptible to his attacks than it has been in some time. Yet, I still field calls and questions about what to do to improve a person's mindset? In short, Psalm 1 gives us a prescription not just for today's woes, but for all time. 

1. Stay away from negative people. 
The opening verse says tells us happy people do not allow wicked people to influence us. I didn't say getting your mind right would be easy. Moving on from friends who make you angry, complain all the time, or participate in sinful activity may hurt at first but if you're earnest, God will find you new friends that will encourage you, build you up, and strengthen your faith. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses was told to do these very things to prepare Joshua to enter the promised land: 

But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.”
(Deu 3:28)

2. Read your Bible DAILY.
In verse 2, the Bible says to 'delight' in the Lord's instruction and to meditate on it 'day and night.' This is easy enough to understand. Build a foundation on God's Word each day and then, you will be prepared for whatever happens. Too many Christians today download devotions from various apps and websites and use THAT as their biblical intake. Those things are not bad but they do not replace reading the Bible itself. When people have come to me in the past struggling with various sins, my first question to them is always "How is your daily reading of the Bible?" If they hesitate at all, I tell them to fix this first, and then we can discuss their problems. The reality is, without God at as the base of our lives, we are building on shaky ground and anything we do apart from this will eventually lead to our downfall. Better to get the foundation built first.

3. Be Patient. The Rewards Come Over Time.
Psalm 1:3 tells us that if we are mindful of the first two points I've given here, then we will bear good fruit. It's guaranteed. In fact, verse 3 ends with: "Whatever he (or she) does will prosper. The word 'prosper' doesn't mean that you'll be rich. There's an entire group in the church that has prostituted that ideology for their own gain and God will judge them in due time. Rather the word means you will thrive. Joshua 1:8 adds to this thought when it says:

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.
(Jos 1:8)

and 3 John gives us a final word here when it adds:

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers.
(3Jn 1:2)

So if you truly want to get out of this rut that the pandemic has put most of the world in, start with God's Word. Not books about God's Word. But the actual Word itself. Make a new behavior that you will read your Bible EVERY DAY. There will be days you will not feel like doing so. Satan will do his best to see that discouragement in your new fledgling habit is quashed. DO IT ANYWAY. Ask God to help you to read and understand His Word and see if your outlook doesn't get better.  As the great motivator Zig Ziglar once said: "Your input determines your outlook. Your outlook determines your output and your output determines your future."

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