Ruts

The weather is just right for evening walks, and we’ve been making the most of it.

My youngest son recently learned how to ride a bike, so he pedals alongside me as I pull the toddler in the wagon.

We live on a dirt road, and the spring rain has left quite a few ruts. The first few times we walked, my son became frustrated at how the ruts pulled his tires or even made him crash.

I dusted him off, pick up the bike, and explain again about how the ruts will pull the tires. After about a week, he began using the ruts to his advantage, jumping over them or riding through them like fast lanes. What had previously been an obstacle now is a source of delight.

Spiritual stagnation feels like a slog through the spring mud, and the ruts of sin, selfishness, and apathy are abundant. However, for the Christian, there are other truths to discover down in the ruts. 

If you have worn a daily path to time spent with the Lord through Scripture reading, prayer, and fasting, then that rut is there too. It is a path carved out through daily use, and even on the dry days of wondering where the Lord has gone, if you have that rut to walk in, at least you know He has been there before. 

In Helen Roseveare’s little book, “Enough,” she describes a time of spiritual neediness: “There followed a very painful ‘trial…’ I took my Bible and sat down to pray. The marker was in Jonah. I read through Jonah. It said nothing to me. I cried out to God to help me, ‘Please, speak to me!’ I read again through Jonah. God seemed silent. I started to read for the third time and as I read through chapter one- of the wild storm at sea as Jonah sought to flee from God- it was suddenly so clear. God seemed to ask me a question: ‘Is it not still true that I am sufficient for all that you need?’” 

Even the Psalmist had his songs of ascent which were recited every year as pilgrims approached Jerusalem. They were repetitive and familiar, a rut, if you will, but instead of the routine becoming an obstacle, they were worshipful sources of delight. 

“Out of the depths, I cry to you, Lord!” and “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways!” were reminders of God’s presence, even in the ruts.

There have been many times, while driving in blizzard conditions in my home state of North Dakota, that I have been glad of the ruts on the sides of the road. When I can’t see where the road is, at least I can hear the bumping beneath my tires and know that I am still headed the right way. When faced with the obstacle of blinding snow, I am delighted with those ruts that steer me straight.

Only the Lord Jesus can take obstacles and turn them into sources of delight.