“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” Psalms 40:2
Sometimes we just have to stop ourselves in the sloppy tracks we’re making - to simply be thankful for the mud moments.
Life, like these rainy, winter days we’ve had recently, can leave us sloshing about in thick, slippery muck. Maybe we even find ourselves having to wipe stray bits of mud from our clothes or faces. Or perhaps, as I’ve experienced, when a careless step in the wrong direction left me shoeless. Yes, I looked back and there my loose-fitting boot stood erect, securely encased within the muddy mire.
My friend, sometimes we simply get bogged down. Life keeps going right on by, with or without us, and we may find we simply cannot keep up at times. We’re proverbially stuck. If you find yourself feeling that way today, hang in there, there IS hope.
Whether you find yourself home alone, or with a house full of ever-needy children, or at the office with all kinds of tasks and people vying for your attention, or a million other scenarios we could think up, life can get overwhelmingly sloppy in quite a short time. Are you shaking your head in agreement?
The mud and muck tend to slow us down a bit or at least make our footing a little unsure. I don’t think any of us run through mud puddles on purpose anymore — unless it would be those carefree children I mentioned earlier. We just don’t like to deal with the mess as adults, do we? Mud pies aren’t so exciting to make once we’re adults.
However, I was thinking about mud and Jesus this morning. I know, quite an odd combination for certain, huh? Yet, I recall multiple times in the Bible where our Sovereign God got involved with dirt and mud. And, it was always for our good!
First, He made the first man from the dust of the earth. I remember Him making use of a muddy river to cleanse a proud man to heal and restore him from a leprous condition. Or, what about the prodigal waking up to reality in the mud pit with the hogs? Then, there was that moment in time when Jesus stooped to write in the dirt as a woman caught in adultery and an angry mob stood awaiting His judgement sentence. Oh, and let’s not forget about the mud balls He made when healing the blind man in the New Testament. I guess the dirty stuff and our wonderful Savior kind of fit hand in hand after all.
Which is good news for us!
I’m learning and seeing, at this stage and season of my life, just how much God takes our situations and all the elements that may be part of it, and uses them for our healing and restoration. Of course, we all know the idea that God works all things for our good, and that’s completely true; but He often uses the mud we’re bogged down in as part of the process.
Over and over again, the process continues to pop up in my life. Can I get an “amen” from anyone else out there? We’re human; we don’t care for pain or aggravation, nor do we favor waiting for everything to work out. Even if it is for our good. We want instant gratification and emergency rescue from our mud pits.
I won’t pretend to have all the answers for you today. Honestly, I don’t even know the exact route or strategy to get through my own process most of the time. All I know is this:
God can take any situation and any element within it to begin our restoration process and refine us into a finished product which will bring Him glory and us a testimony.
Can I encourage us not look at our mud-moments the same from this day forward?
Sure, they may appear to be to our demise and may bring some embarrassment or disappointment; but in God’s hands and time, mud can be the stuff He uses to hold us into a mold He is using to remake or shape us into something even more beautiful. It can cause us to see things in life differently, and even help write a beautiful story of redemption.
So I ask you, want to join me in making a mud pie today? Let’s have a celebration right here in the middle of the muck. We won’t always be here, but this may very well be the catalyst God uses to propel us into our destiny and purpose.
Here’s to a big, sloppy, mud-covered high five...let’s join together and see this mud moment through to glory and testimony.
Blessings~
as always, if this has blessed you in any way, please share it anywhere and with anyone who might benefit. help me get the word out!