Stuck Won't Get You Very Far

So many stories in the Bible talk about people being healed. The lame man walks. The blind man sees. The leper gets cleansed. And while physical healing is great, I’ve often wondered what happens to them next. Do they have residual pain or psychological patterns to face? Surely it was traumatic to have lived lame, blind or as a leper shouting, “Unclean!” everywhere you went. Just because someone receives physical healing doesn’t mean their emotions have caught up.

These thoughts swim through my mind when I hear preachers or teachers talk about Biblical lives. I want to know what happens next. I want to know this because I, like you, live in what happens next. The next is known as now.

After all, most of us are not lame, blind nor lepers. Most of our pain hasn’t been as obvious as that either. Maybe it was an absent parent, a loveless marriage, struggles in school, lack of advancement in a career, unruly kids (surprise kids? miscarriages?), financial woes or an accident that impacted us. Compounded pain can harm as much as disease or disabilities. Or, maybe it was loss. Loss of a dream, relationship, custody, youth, innocence or even the loss of a loved one through death. When I lived and worked in Africa as a missionary, my best friend was a Muslim woman named Shyroze. Despite being Muslim, she was one of the victims shot and killed by an Islamic terrorist gunman at a Nairobi mall. She had gone there for tea. Death can come so quickly, but leave such a lasting scar on those left behind.

Another friend of mine recently lost someone she loved dearly too. When struggling to understand how to go on after a loved one of so many years is no longer around, she confided in me something that had brought her comfort. They were words told to her by a friend trying to help: “You did not die with her.” Those words gently brought her focus back to now.

To be reminded of your now is important. It’s far too easy to get stuck in yesterday. It’s easy to get stuck in grief. To get stuck in pain, triggers, trauma, loss, disappointment, regret, shame or even blame and unforgiveness. But just as “stuck” won’t get you very far if you’re driving, living stuck (either chained to the pains of your past or in the fears of your future) won’t either.

Friend, I know your pain is real and I know it is raw. But just like the words spoken to my friend who lost her friend tragically, the words in this devotional have been intentionally chosen in an effort to help - to gently remind you to embrace your now. That’s all any of us have anyhow. What we have, and who we are, is that which exists right now. God reminds us of this when He asks us to stop thinking about tomorrow or pursuing everything in sight. Our culture will tell us otherwise. But God lets us know in Matthew 6:32-35 that if we focus on Him right now, He will keep our tomorrow in His loving hands and care. Doing this will free us up to live the abundant life Jesus Christ came to give (John 10:10).