Struggling with quicksand?

Ever get that sinking feeling that life feels like you’re trapped in quicksand?

No matter what actions you take or how much effort you put into a task – or life in general – nothing goes right. Things just keep falling apart.

I don’t believe we’re alone in this as believers. I see this every day in the lives of coworkers and people I engage with as part of my own 9-5 drudgery.

But God has placed us in our particular situation in life for a reason.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV) – “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

What if the connection we’re looking for with someone else in this world is to help them negotiate that quicksand with a helping hand? Or, maybe the reverse?

The reality of quicksand – contrary to how we perceive it – is that quicksand is rarely fatal. The cinematic world, like so many other topics, has reimagined quicksand as something so deadly that few escape, and usually only the heroes.

The truth is quicksand can be navigated with a bit of knowledge about the danger and some calm, slow, targeted actions to work your way out of it.

Isaiah 41:10 (KJV) – “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

One could argue that the “quicksand” of our lives is a reality where God is not trying to test us, but strengthen us (I know. That’s tough to digest when we’re in the thick of things). If we can calm down and focus on His way for us, then we can work our way through the muck toward His goals.

Granted, He’s in control at that point, so we can’t believe we’re the ones doing all the work. Otherwise, you might get sucked back in, and the quicksand struggle begins all over again.

For anyone struggling with “quicksand” in their life, Jesus is the lifeline that can save them if they ask Him.

3 Questions for now

There has been so much sickness going around lately that it makes people afraid to come in contact with others. My hands are raw from washing them so many times each day.

A manager at my work just yesterday closed the door of his office on a coworker who showed up with a mask on after getting over an illness. Then the manager told the coworker to go home and work from there. This sent the coworker back to the place where other family members were sick.

Go figure, people get panicky after the pandemic of a few years ago.

How can we connect with others in times like this?

Here are three questions to help you start a conversation:

• What do you think is the best way to treat others?

• How do you support the people you care about when they're going through sickness or hard times?

• What do you do when you feel sick, stressed or overwhelmed?

Read these questions and responses several times and remember them as best you can.

Then, at your next “now” opportunity, ask one and follow the Lord’s lead.

And maybe keep a box of tissues or a few cough drops handy for a coworker.

Be kind. Love them. Be bold.

Shawn’s noodling rant:

(“Noodling” is a term I swiped from my mentor. The meaning is to “ponder” or “think deeply about” a topic that God is challenging us with through scripture or the Holy Spirit, or both.)

Life is rough, then you die … or maybe not?

“Don’t worry, be happy.”

Sometimes when life is tough those words from the song by Bobby McFerrin will pop into my head.

Usually, they bring a smile to my face, but sometimes they just annoy me.

I think, “How can I be happy?” as that quicksand of life surrounds me. Some days life is just tough.

But as my mentors in my church made it clear this week, life ain’t supposed to be easy.

If I may side-rant a bit here … sometimes I can’t stand my pastor and mentors. They are such godly men who are steeped in the Scripture with so much experience as God-fearing men who love others deeply that it simply is amazing.

Sometimes they deliver insight into God’s Word and how to apply it to our lives that it just thumps me in the forehead like a 2x4 piece of lumber. Wow, that truth just smarts.

I took a couple of pops to the noggin this week. And thank God for them – the thumps and my mentors.

Back to quicksand, life and where we’re going.

There is another saying out there in popular culture: “Life sucks, then you die.”

That’s what the world is seeing, and experiencing, all too often.

What people are missing, and it’s our job to enlighten them, is God’s version of life and living that can replace that sad assessment of our time in this world.

Life is always going to be tough, and everyone will die. But Jesus offers something more than this world’s version of life and how it all ends.

“Life on this earth holds no promise, then you die … but those who know Jesus as their Savior will live forever with Him who created us for something more than this world.”

That assessment isn’t as peppy as the other quips, but it holds more meaning and far more hope for the future. And it’s all available to anyone who believes.

Maybe someone will read this rant and turn it into a peppy song so others may believe.

I’m sure I’ll have a few more knots on my noggin before that happens.

Someone did already put the following Bible verse to song:

Phillipians 4:4 (KJV) – “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”

Now, disciple, keep your eyes out for someone suffering under the strain of this world’s quicksand and offer them the helping hand of Jesus.