When You Come to the End of Your Rope

 

My heart sank. I knew it before I checked. The door was locked.

Moments before, while Luke worked away from home and my 5 oldest kids vacationed at Grandma’s, I sat at home with my newborn baby girl and our dog. With the baby asleep in her chair, I stepped out of the house and into the garage to refill the dog food. That’s when the door shut behind me.

I quickly assessed my situation.

Husband: Out of town.

Keys: Securely locked inside the house.

Phone: With the keys.

Baby: In the house!!!

Everything but me and the dog were in the house.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I turned the doorknob time and time again hoping somehow it would open.

I knew I should consult God about this, so I did … and then I grabbed a hammer and climbed out the window.

I carefully considered the best window to bash and started swinging – once, twice, three times. Nothing. Then I really put my weight behind it and … nothing. Apparently we have hammer-proof glass.

I moved to another window and finally broke through only to find out it was double-paned glass.

There I stood in the dark, hammer in hand (did I mention it was raining?), and still no way in the house.

I marched back to the well-lit, dry garage to re-group.

In the quietness of the garage I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me to stop and pray.

This time I did. And when I waited long enough to listen, God calmed my heart and showed me another way.

Within minutes (and no hammer) I popped the locked door open.

The baby slept soundly unaware of the fiasco that had just unfolded. My heart stopped pounding and what moments before scared me senseless, now left me laughing.

Does that ever happen to you? Instincts send you racing down a rabbit trail of useless efforts of your own, and it’s only after you exhaust all of your best ideas that you finally let God lead the way.

As followers of Jesus and children of God, He promises us wisdom every time we ask,

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6 (NIV)

When I really think about it, the first part of this verse comes easy for me. I often ask God for wisdom. It’s verse 6 that creates a problem for me.

When I ask, I don’t always count on God to give me wisdom.

Instead, I count on myself. I ask God, but rely on me until I end up back at the starting line, drenched and out of options.

Whatever you face today, you can turn to God. He’s waiting open-handed with His wisdom. But as we seek God’s wisdom, let’s linger long enough to receive from Him.

My pastor challenged us this week to spend 5 minutes a day listening to God. Not praying, not praising, not sitting quietly while we scroll through the grocery list in our heads. But purpose 5 minutes a day to be still in God’s presence and simply listen. I think it’s a great start to lingering long enough to hear from God. Will you take the challenge with me?

Leave a comment and let me know how it goes!

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12 Comments

  1. Well I tried it. At first, with my eyes closed, my mind would not be still. I was praising and praying. Nothing is hard to do! So I opened my eyes thinking that might help. My eyes focused on a light switch. That is when it hit me (God’s words). You can’t turn me on and off like a light switch just because something didn’t go like you wanted. It was exactly what I needed to hear because of something that happened at church Sunday. I will be doing this again!

    1. Reynie I agree with you!! It’s so so hard to completely quiet our thoughts, isn’t it!? Praise the Lord for your diligence in seeking Him and His faithfulness to speak!! Thank you so much for sharing.

  2. I know it was so scary for you at the time but I am cracking up. Only because I once did the same thing with my oldest son who was 18 months old at the time. I had a new car and packed him up and we met a friend and her little girl for lunch. Afterwards I got in my car, forgot to give her something so I stepped out and closed the door. I heard a lock. Ugh- power locks. And my keys were inside the car and I had not yet turned on the air conditioning. Did I mention it was a very hot day in July? I panicked as any mother would do. I wish at the time I would have taken a moment and listened to God. However I didn’t really know Him at the time. So I was looking in her yard for a rock big enough to break the window screaming the whole time. Luckily her very kind neighbor who was a locksmith came out and he was able to somehow get the door open with just minimal damage.
    Wow. My son is 17 years old now but I remember that day so well. What a great idea to spend 5 minutes a day with God. Listening to Him. And really hearing what He is telling me. I am going to do that starting today. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Thank you for sharing my panic, Michelle. It’s always nice when you know you’re not the only one. 🙂 Glad you didn’t have to use that rock, but clearly I know the feeling! So excited for what God will share with you as you commit to listen to him every day. It’s exciting to know we’re doing this together. Great to hear from you!

  3. I love this !! Thank you for sharing this story !! Its a great remibder we beed to remain calm and listen to him!! Trust in our heavenly father whole heartily!! I will do the 5 minutes really listen!! God bless !!

  4. Thank you for sharing this oh so timely email message. My son is an adult and living with us. He cuts me deeply with his words. One minute, he can be so very kind and the next, cruel words cut me to the core. Last night, God whispered to me that I was doing things in my own strength and wisdom and failing to trust Him to grant me His wisdom, knowledge and understanding in addressing this horrible situation. I didn’t realize that by doing things my way, I had placed myself on the throne of my life. This morning, I repented, and God is back in his rightful place in my heart. It will be a definite faith walk as I look to Him when my son hurls hurtful words at me.

    1. Hi Lonni, I’m so sorry for your struggle. Thank you so much for sharing your testimony here. I’m praying for you today!

  5. I don’t know what is wrong with me. I don’t hear God and I don’t understand why. I tried to be quiet for 5 minutes, when I did not feel like it worked. I set a timer and started over. I hear nothing….

    1. Hey Kendra, first let me say, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re not the only one who feels this way, I’m sure of it. Just this morning during my 5 minutes of listening I felt a little underwhelmed. Let me encourage you to stick with it. Listening to God’s voice is a spiritual discipline. And just as physical disciplines don’t always bring immediate results, spiritual disciplines often take time to develop. Stick with it. Pursue God. The Bible promises when we seek Him with all of our heart, we will find Him. Also, Lysa TerKeurst’s Bible study, Finding I Am, has some great directives to hearing God’s voice. In week 3 of the study talks about keys to hearing God’s voice and also barriers that may prevent us from hearing His voice. It’s a great resource if you want to check it out. Thanks for sharing here, Kendra. I’m praying for you!

    2. Hi Kendra,
      I too experienced that when I first started my walk with God. I agree wholeheartedly with Katy that it takes practice., practice, practice! I asked the Lord to open my eyes and my ears to recognize the Spirit speaking to me. The Lord taught me line upon line. He still does!! I’m still practicing! Even after all the years, sometimes the heavens are quiet and although I hate it, I’ve learned to be patient and thank the Lord for all things, even the quietness. I’ve also learned that the quietness serves a purpose. I feel so much more grateful when that passes and I do hear God’s whisper to me again!! Don’t give up!!

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