Now is the time... To Get Out of Your Puddle

He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Isaiah 40:29

Recently we were away for a night to celebrate our anniversary. The weather, being winter, was cool and showery and as we lunched near the marina we were fascinated to see this pigeon just sitting in a puddle. At one stage a child came and shooed it off, it flew off briefly but soon returned to the puddle. Remember, it’s winter and cool, (I can’t say cold or my North American friends laugh and say we don’t know what cold is!). Why on earth would this pigeon want to sit in such an uncomfortable place? I could at least understand it if it was summer. Perhaps one of you is going to shed light on my question.

However, as I pondered this I got to thinking about people who sit in their ‘puddles’. Puddles of self pity, puddles of misery, puddles of pride or poverty, unbelief, bitterness or I-can’t-ness. There are many puddles that we can find ourselves in and sometimes we get like this pigeon and just get comfortable in our discomfort. It becomes a place of familiarity with safety in its own funny way, but it is not a good place to be. The problem is that the longer we stay in our puddle, the harder it can be to get out of it, so we stay right where we are.

Sometimes we try to get others to join us in our puddle and we invite them to pity parties or faith-free forums in which we bemoan our situation and do no service to our poor listeners. Have you ever found yourself in such a puddle? Perhaps you know someone who is in a puddle right now and you are wondering how to help them to dry ground.

There is a way out and it is through faith in the word of God. Often in our ‘puddle times’ we neglect the word of God, but in it lies our strength. I don’t think we realise how much strength there is in the Word. Proverbs 4:21-22 says this, “Don’t lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning.” There is strength in God’s Word and there is a word for every season and every situation, we just have to be a student of the Word.

Amazing things can happen when we take hold of God’s Word and begin to declare it over situations and over our life. Our thinking changes as the Word goes to work in our heart. Psalm 119:30 says “The entrance of Your words gives light.” The Word lights up the darkness that our puddle has brought around us, the darkness of unbelief that keeps us a prisoner of our problems.

The best way we can help someone else out of their puddle is to point them to God’s Word and help them find God’s truth for their trouble. The Word is living and powerful and comes with the grace of God to bring change as we activate it. God’s Word cannot fail because He is the Word. (John 1:1)

Prayer: Father, help me to receive your grace to leave my puddle. Amen