I have heard it said that if you see a turtle on a fence post, you can bet he had help getting there. It’s kind of sad, a helpless turtle, sitting on his shell bottom, all four feet dangling in the air and unable to move. You see, it’s also a pretty safe bet he’ll need help to get down and get moving. From time to time, I feel like that turtle, and I figure you do to. I know where I need to be heading (or at least that I need to head somewhere), and I just can’t seem to get there, in spite of good intentions and effort. Let me assure you this is not an effort to berate anyone or help us beat ourselves into motivation, but getting “high-centered” is a problem because it keeps us from moving from where we are to where God wants us to be and keeps us from what He has for us to do. So, let’s make some observations about fence posts and how to get off of them.
The first step is realizing you are stuck. Interestingly, we can be stuck without realizing it and can be moving ahead nicely in some areas while we are stuck in others. You may be moving upward in your career and making no progress knowing, loving, and caring for your spouse. You can be moving ahead in the activities of church and be stagnant in your spiritual life and connection with the Lord. As you think about the areas of your life and ministry, what does God’s Word say about where He wants you heading and what kind of progress are you making?
Most of the time, the next step is figuring out what our fence post is. These fence posts distract, make our efforts weak or counter-productive, lead us to make poor decisions and miss the richness of life and ministry God has for us. The following are some common things that get us “high-centered.” (This phrase refers to a vehicle that has run up on something so its wheels can’t get traction.)
Fear / Uncertainty – When we don’t know how something will turn out or are concerned about how our idea or efforts will be received, we may get stuck.
Perceived lack of skill or understanding – In a given situation or for a certain task, we lack the skill or knowledge we need.
Sin – We have knowingly or unknowingly allowed into our lives something that keeps us bound up, defeated, and removed from God’s blessings.
The Past – We get stuck re-living or analyzing the past (good or bad), celebrating or stewing on events gone by instead of living in today and toward the future.
Un-forgiveness – We get stuck on a real or imagined offense that we or another person has committed.
Grief – A loss and the process of working through it can begin to define our life in counter-productive ways.
What do we do to get off high-center and get moving once again?
Ask yourself whether or not you really want to get off and get moving. Sometimes, we keep something in our lives that meets a need for us, even if it is destructive. So, what is the problem doing for you, and do you really want to be freed from it?
Ask what God’s Word says about your situation and how to deal with it.
Try (with help if needed) to get as realistic a perspective as possible on the situation. Sometimes, we are stuck because we don’t see situations, others, or our self accurately. We may also need help getting the right tools to deal with the situation.
Seek the healing and power of the Lord for deliverance.
Make decisions on a consistent basis that move you in God’s productive direction and off the post.
You may need coaching and / or an accountability partner in the process.
In short, getting off high-center takes a right way of seeing things, the right desire (to move forward), right dependence (on God), and right decisions (not to stay stuck). Please do not hear me making light of difficulty that has you trapped. I simply want to get you thinking about the issue and encourage you to get off high-center. You may need the help of prayer and Godly counsel. It might take some time, but the Lord wants to help you get moving in the right direction.
We might need to know how we got stuck in the first place. There are times (though not all the time) when it is helpful to know why we got stuck. When the issue is sin, we must confess and repent to get moving again, so we need to know if sin is the problem. If we are stuck because God is working on some issue in our lives, we might need to know that in order to cooperate with Him in our growth. If we have gotten back on track, we can learn how not to get stuck on the same fence post again if we know how we got high-centered before. Pride, not trusting the Lord, indulging the sinful flesh, not living in God’s Spirit and according to His Word some common causes of getting stuck, and we need to learn not to make those mistakes again. However, there is a caution here. It is all too easy to get high-centered on the fence post of self-analysis. There are plenty of times when we don’t need to know how we got high-centered, and we certainly don’t need to become self-absorbed. We just need to realize we are stuck, possibly figure out what we are stuck on, and take steps with God’s help to get moving in the right direction again.
What things or types of situations tend to get you "stuck"?
What are some other ways you have found to get moving again?