Getting Unstuck: Letting Go of the Past and Choosing to Live Again
I love music. It is food for my soul – especially during our family’s many basketball road trips. Each of us has our personal favorites, and these days the teenagers are more opinionated than ever, but generally we tend to listen to a little of almost everything.
But there is one thing we all agree on. The annoying habit of radio stations replaying the same songs over and over again! You know that song that WAS your favorite? Well, after 15 replays it probably isn’t anymore!
Getting Unstuck
The other day as I was flipping through channels trying to find a song I hadn’t heard too many times, a thought crossed my mind.
Those replays aren’t much different from the replays I too often let take over my thoughts.
You know the ones … The not-so-good thoughts. The ones that replay a story-line bearing way too much negativity. Story-lines filled with the grief, hurt, and betrayal of the past. Sometimes it’s the big betrayals and other times it’s the ones we know we shouldn’t even think about at all!
But all of them serve one great big ugly purpose … to steal our joy and land us in a pit of “stuck”.
Stuck looking back.
Stuck allowing the past more power than the present or the future.
and
Stuck resigning to unfulfilled goals and dreams.
A negative thought life leads us right into a pit of STUCK! So, start getting unstuck #betrayed #hope #overcomer #liveagain #momentsofhope Share on XIn the book of Zechariah, we find the Israelites disillusioned with the re-building of the Temple. They had returned from exile in Babylon 20 years earlier and although they knew what they were supposed to do, they were stuck. They couldn’t seem to overcome the obstacles and as their focus rested on all that had happened, they struggled to believe rebuilding was even possible. To rebuild the temple, getting unstuck was necessary. So God raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to do just that!
Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple! -Zechariah 8:13 NLT
He means it for us, too, because the business of getting unstuck is important.
He wants us to get on with rebuilding our lives instead of staying stuck in the pain of the past.
So don't be afraid! Get on with the rebuilding of your life. Choose to not stay stuck in the past. #overcomer #risingabove#bgbg2 #betrayal #stuck #hope Share on X
Friends, no matter what you have, are, or will face – a good day will come again. Please don’t miss it! Don’t get stuck running those replays and miss the good God has in store. His Word does not come back void (Isaiah 55:11) nor does He break His promises (Numbers 23:19). So, we can believe Him when He says He will rescue us and make us both a symbol and a source of blessing.
Your journey is unique, yet with God, you can walk baby step by baby step out of the past and into the future. You can stop the replay of the injustices that keep you stuck and begin to focus on the replays of all that is good and all that is possible.
I believe in you because I believe in the power of Christ in you!
The power of Christ in you is able to accomplish all things! #gettingunstuck #overcomer #betrayed #momentsofhope Share on XFriends, each time you listen to the radio, I challenge you to let it serve as a reminder to ask yourself, “What storylines are replaying in my mind? The good and the possible? Or those that keep me stuck?”
A Prayer
Dear Jesus, You are the mighty rebuilder of all things. You make all things new, including our lives. Lord, I ask You to purify us as we walk through the fire. Purify us and make us like gold. Remove our fear and our replays of the past wrongs done to us and the wrongs we have done ourselves, replacing them instead with Your courage and Your hope. Move us to get on with the rebuilding of our lives so that our story-line will be one that points to Your might, power, and love. May we each begin to replay Your truth that is filled with our hopes and dreams. May we each walk in a way that glorifies You and brings hope to those lost in the “stuck” of the past. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.
I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them. I will say, “These are my people,” And they will say, “The Lord is our God.” –Zechariah 13:9
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When People Hurt You: Rising Above the Emotional Pain of Rejection and Betrayal is a series that looks into the Word of God as a guide to not just surviving, but rising victoriously over hurt. Each week I address a new aspect of rejection and betrayal that serves to keep us stuck in the pain rather than moving forward to where we want to be. (If you missed a post, then you can get caught up HERE or click on an image below!)
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Mental Illness: Reaching Out Isn’t That Easy
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The Unfair Task of Making God Priority Over Your Mate
by Beth Steffaniak of Messy Marriage
Loving the Desert Detours of Life
by Koki Oyuke of Love, Life, Live
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I read Fixing a Broken Record by Amena Brown early this year, and your thoughts here remind me of her message. We get stuck, just like a needle on those old vinyl records, and our repetitive looping doesn’t make sense, but we can’t get the needle to move on our own. Thanks be to God for His new Message of Hope and Peace based in Truth.
I remember the old vinyl records and how annoying it was when I couldn’t get the music to finish playing what I wanted to hear and instead repeated the same things again and again. Love that there is a book on this! Thanks, friend, for joining me here ♥
Thank you for sharing that tidbit about Zechariah and the Israelites being stuck and God being intentional with getting them unstuck.
I’m in a similar position trying to push past stuck to do a thing God wants me to do.
“Don’t be afraid. Be strong and get on with the thing I (God) said” is what I’m carrying with me.
Thank you Lori
Praying for you, Koki! That hand-in-hand with God you step into exactly where He wants you!
Sometimes I forget that I don’t have to listen to these loops of negative thoughts. Recently, I wrote about a trick (from the 80’s no less!) that showed me that I don’t have to keep listening! So grateful for reminders like yours to change the soundtrack!
I have to read about your trick, Rebecca!
Yes! Such great truth! I love how you took the ordinary of listening to music and saw wisdom in that. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks, Emily ♥ We spend more hours in the car sometimes than a truck drivers! lol! But God gives us stories to share no matter where we find our lives. Thank you for joining me here. You are a blessing!
Great encouragement for today. laurensparks.net
Thanks so much, Lauren!
Great analogy today Lori,
I have a replay on a loop in my thoughts in the last few months, since starting up blogging in January;
“Only one earth life,
Soon it will pass,
Only what’s done for Jesus will last!”
It was above our blackboard at Bible College all those years ago.
Remember you’re welcome to drop by for a cup of inspiration anytime,
Jennifer
Now that is a great replay to have on a loop!!!
That’s a great way to remember to examine our thought lives. I’m going to be thinking about that. Thanks for sharing and hosting!
Thank you so much for joining me, Donna!
Thanks so much for featuring me! I really appreciate it!
It was a wonderful post! It was my honor!
I hate those horrible loops of broken records that scratch away in my head, sometimes, it’s nice to sit at the Dairy Queen and listen to oldies, the closed the A&W, it had a jukebox.
Hi Rebecca, What a fun memory you just conjured up for me! The Dairy Queen and the A&W!
I’m just now getting notified that you shared about my post, Lori! How sweet of you! I’ve been distracted lately because we’re working on getting our house ready to put on the market and I’ve been taking something of a blogging break because of it. But I really appreciate the shout out, my friend! I hope you had a wonderful fourth!
I love the radio analogy! It’s so easy to get stuck in replay focusing on hurts and injustices, instead of fixing our eyes on the great future that we are assured of in Christ. The enemy will try to keep us looking backward to prevent us from moving forward. God is more than able to take care of any injustice that we’ve suffered. Let’s leave the past with Him and walk confidently into the future with Him!
Sometimes what makes us dwell in the past and not move forward is having obsessive compulsive behavior. This is a serious problem where our mind is so fixated on a specific thing, and it’s a cycle that is hard to break. A divine intervention would help in such situations.
Very true. My sons’ both struggle with ADHD. One of them, tends to have obsessive compulsive tendencies with it. He is so diligent about his faith and developing healthy coping strategies, though. It is still something we work on consistently. I praise God He keeps helping us rewrite the narrative!