I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm.place to stand. He put a new song on my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in Him. Psalm 40: 1-3
Residents of northern New England say there are more than 4 seasons. The additions to the Yankee calendar are “stick season”, the time of year when the trees are bare and awaiting the first snows of winter and “mud season”. Mud season occurs when meltwater cannot runoff into the ground which is still frozen. Instead the meltwater and spring rains pool into the top layers of dirt on unpaved roads creating mud. Lots and lots of mud.
If you are from the area, you know the rest. Mud is slippery and unyielding. Your tires sink and your feet get stuck. You cannot move forward or backward. Sometimes, you slip and fall painfully. Often, you lose your traction. You are helpless and feel trapped.
If only you had watched where you were going, you never would have stepped in that mud and ruined your new sneakers. You should have known better than to drive on that dirt road this time of year. You chide yourself that you could have prevented this situation, if only. It drives your determination to get out of it.
But, it’s mud. It is everywhere this time of year. It sets up barriers between you and your intended destination. Sometimes, you can’t avoid it. It is the unexpected problem that deflates your morale. It is the sudden illness that reshapes your life. It is a fallout with a good friend or a decision that does not come to fruition. It is mourning a sudden loss. You are suddenly sinking in a morass of despair and fear, desperate to escape and miserably immobile. You are hopelessly stuck in the mud.
How do you get out? You reach for a solid, stable object to pull you out. You call a tow truck, reach for a strong tree branch, or the hand of a friend. You stop struggling against the mud that draws you down, stop having faith in your ability to fix your conundrum, and reach out.
By now, I’m certain the analogy is clear. The mud is your troubles and the solid object is God. You have relied on your own abilities to liberate you from pain. It has caused you to sink, it has caused you to slip, and it has caused you to fall. Your self reliance has trapped you, as has your desire to avoid pain. While you are trying to fix things, God is waiting for you to cry out to Him. You may still endure troubles and may still have pain, but God will be the solid object that is hope, strength and peace. You will have His blessed assurance that He is with you in your troubles and He cares for you. And it is He who will lift you up out of the mud and mire at the appointed time. The action you must take is to call out to Him, to wait, and to trust Him.
Written by Janet Keefe
