Thankful, in a Rut



Have you ever felt like you were stuck? In a rut?

If you have ever felt this way, you are not alone. Do you know, that when I am stuck in a rut I feel so frustrated and down, but most of all I feel hungry!!!!

When I can't control  the situations in my life, like my finances, my children, my extended family situations and so on is when my rut seems to make itself comfortable. These circumstances that I can't control, make me want to turn to something I can control. And eating sure does feel like an easy way to find comfort.

But, in all this, what feels comfortable and satisfying going in my mouth, doesn't always feel the same on my heart. To overindulge makes me feel so guilty, and once that feeling of guilt joins me, it only makes my issues more complicated.

So, if we (who are like me) can't eat our way out of our rut, then what can we do?

If I am TRULY hungry, I reach for healthy options (carrot sticks, a big salad, granola) and then, find something else to do... clean, read, talk to a friend on the phone... praise God with the same lips I feel like I need to use eating a powdered doughnut with ;)

Even though I may not feel like looking to my Heavenly Father, smack dab in the middle of the rut I am in, my heart tends to shift a bit, and begin to become encouraged by the blessings that surround me when I "praise Him in the storm."  Look what happened when Daniel took this step. In Daniel 6:10, Daniel had just learned that if anyone was caught praying to anyone else besides King Darius, they would be thrown into the Lion’s Den, and that, my friends is quite the literal rut!!!

What did he do? He prayed, and he praised...

And do you know what he chose to pray?
“God, save me!”
“God, it’s not fair!”
“God, this is too much!”
“God, kill my enemies and wipe them out!”
“God, You know I can’t handle this without extreme doses of chocolate!”
No. He prayed none of these...

What Daniel prayed is encouraging, and can get me out of the deepest "rut" pretty fast!!!

Daniel prayed, Thank You God. “Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10b, NIV)

Our initial responses are usually a by-product of the rituals we’ve established in our life. Daniel had made it his habit to be thankful. What is your "ritual?" Are you thankful?

Life will be and is full of heartache, trials, "ruts" and things we just can't control, but what are we choosing to pray.... ???

I choose.... Thank You God...