The Ruts of Spiritual Life

Have you ever been in a rut and couldn't seem to get out? 
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When we lived in Daisetta, Texas, we had received a great deal of rain over the period of a couple weeks.  Off to the side of our driveway was a large puddle of water. It had been that way for a week and the ground was extremely soft. As I was backing out of the driveway, I pulled around Sonya's car and into the puddle. You guessed it; I got stuck. I had to call someone to pull me out. I learned that day, the harder I try to get out of a rut, the deeper it becomes.
 
In our spiritual lives, we go through periods of drought or as I call it, a rut.  It seems that we are stuck in the same place all the time. It seems as though we are not growing, and the harder we try to pray and study the Word, the more difficult it becomes.
 
I have been through many times of drought, but one thing I learned, is the harder I try to get out, the harder it gets. That is when I learned the solution. When I’m stuck, I need someone to pull me out.  Jesus is waiting for us to call on Him and ask for His help. The rut is too deep to try to do it our way. I have learned when it is the hardest to pray and read the Word, I ask God to help me. I stop trying to pray because "I NEED TO" but rather because I want to. Our spiritual walk can become a rigid ritual or formality. We do it and we walk away unchanged. When we give it to the Lord and we begin to spend time with Him, not just because it is our "hour a day", but a time set aside with Him to just soak Him in, we will find that we become refreshed.
 
A rut is difficult to overcome and impossible without Jesus to help us. I believe that God allows these times to build our faith and trust in Him so that we will still seek Him, although we don't feel like it or don't experience His presence. He will put within you a new spirit and a new heart.
 
Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
 
Allow Jesus to pull you out of your spiritual rut. He is waiting for you.