Things that Sabotage our Success – Part 2 – A Rut
Read: 1 Samuel 17:1-11 & 16
“Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet[a] tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[b]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[c] His shield bearer went ahead of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.”
Last week I began a new series of lessons called, Things that Sabotage our Success. I made mention of the fact that all too often we come up with some great ideas, maybe things we would like to do or accomplish, or maybe even something we would like to acquire. And whether it be a New Year’s resolution or a life time goal, too many times there are those things that sabotage or short circuit our success in achieving these goals. In part one, I talked about something that hampers many of us, and that is our own stinkin thinkin. It’s when we don’t think we can do something, that we are not good enough, or don’t deserve something better than what we already have.
In that lesson I tried to remind you that God designed you and me in His own image, to be creative, to imagine greater things, and He also enabled us to accomplish truly amazing things, especially with His help.
This week I would like to talk about something else that can sabotages and short circuit our amazing God given potential; and that is our own ruts.
Most of you know what I am talking about when I refer to us getting in a rut. It’s when we do the same thing, the same way over and over again; it’s the habits or routines we create for our self. We get up the same time, go to work the same time, eat breakfast the same time, eat the same thing for breakfast, etc. I suppose some routines or ruts are ok because they provide us with some degree of order for our life. But sometimes if these ruts are too deep too rigid they can become counterproductive.For example we can become so comfortable with our routine and the way we do things that when something happens to interrupt that routine or rut, or when someone suggests we do something different or better, we get stressed out or even upset.
In our Bible story, Saul is the King of Israel, as a matter of fact he is the first king of Israel. And there was an ongoing goal to purge the land of the pagan enemy nations that still were present in the land that God promised Abraham’s descendants. In this story we see two armies face off in Judah. Saul and the Israelites occupied one hill and the Philistines occupied another with a valley between them.
And rather than Saul enquiring of the Lord as to what they should do and then charging into the Philistines and dealing with them, the two armies basically set up camp. Each day Goliath would come down into the valley, and he would taunt the Israelites and then insult defy the army of God. No one would go out to meet him on the field of battle because they were afraid. Goliath did this day after day. One week turned into two, and this continued on for forty days and nothing happened. (Imagine some of the excuse they came up with)
Personally I think that this routine had dug itself into a rut. The Israelite and Philistine armies had become comfortable with just having ol’ Goliath go through his daily routine as they just sat back safe and secure in camp.
But then David came along, and quite frankly I think he could not quite believe what was going on… even as young as he was.
After David’s saw this big oaf and heard what Goliath said, he was really upset and indignant. David’s strong words were reported to the king, and then in vs. 32, David tells Saul,
“Let no one loose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
Of course they all thought he was a bit of a fool, but Saul ok, and tried to offer David his armor but David even turned that down.
Then in verses 40-51, we read what happens next. (READ)
“40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.”
Ruts can hamper us and truly become debilitating in so many ways:
- We get comfortable and don’t want to try anything new because it’s not the way we have been doing things.
- Sometime we ignore other’s good advice. New suggestions and ideas may include changing what we are comfortable doing. We may hinder the very thing we are trying to do because we are stubborn and don’t want to change.
- Our ruts can in many ways bind us and cause us to become ineffective as time goes on. Others will advance ahead of us because we’re not willing to change.
- Being in a rut many times will cause you to be irritable and hard to get along with because you are stubborn and don’t want to listen to good advice.
- I read somewhere; the worst thing about being in a rut is that if you don’t find a way to get out of it, a rut will turn into a rot!In other words,a rut… unless you find an escape from it, will rob you of joy and life, and leave you in a dead and rotting place.
- Someone once said, “Change is always hard for the man who is in a rut. For he has scaled down to living his live to that which he can handle comfortably, and welcomes no change or challenge that would lift him.”
No areas of our life are safe from potential mundane routines and ruts. Our marriage, how we handle our finances, how we conduct warfare (like Saul and his men), our jobs, how you conduct your business, how you entertain yourself. We can even get into a spiritual rut.
TRADE COMPLACENT FOR VISION
The Bible reminds us that
where there is no vision the people will perish. (Proverb 29:18)
Living without any vision and hope, end up being a devastating existence. When we have nothing to look forward to, no new ideas, no new goals, or when we think things will never get any better, we get discouraged and depressed. We need goals and a vision for the future in our individual lives and in our church. It is necessary for one’s mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.
We need to have a vision and goals. Life looses it’s joy and luster when we cling to the same old routines day after day, week after week, year after year. We get complacent in our secular and spiritual lives. When we see that this happening, or if someone makes us aware of this, we need to make some changes.
Complacency comes from living in ruts. Goals, creative ideas, and vision happen when we get out of those ruts.
Oscar Wilde said, “Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”
The point is there are things that we can do that help you get out of that rut and start enjoying life again. Here are a few more suggestions I read:
- Take some classes, learn something new
- Go on a weekend get away
- Get up an hour earlier and take a stroll around your neighborhood or learn a new language.
- Change your personal appearance a little
- Challenge yourself to do something outside your comfort zone … take a risk
- Read something that will inspire you – buy some good spiritual music
- Watch 50 % less TV and do something different, learn a craft, learn to play and instrument
- Invite someone different over to your home for a meal every month
- Try to make a new friend once a month
- Give back by volunteering
- Pray at a different time of day – Pray with a friend
- The way to create some movement in your life is to try something new and experiment a bit. You may find things that you don’t like, but you’ll also uncover a few pleasant surprises.
- What did you once enjoy as a child or young adult? Was cooking your thing? Take a culinary class. Was it going hiking, fishing, camping, sledding or skiing, find a friend or some kids and make some time to do those things. Did you like to draw or paint, pick up a pen or brush and have fun instead of watching TV. Did you like having stories read to you? Go to the library and get some books on CDs and listen to them in your car or at home. Just thinking about the fun you had in your younger days will help you plug into your innate creativity and get you thinking about what might excite you now.
- Open yourself up to advice, feedback, and support. You are never too old to learn a new way to do things.
My dad was in my opinion a successful businessman even though he had little formal education. He was always reading, and trying to learn more. It kept his passion for business alive and up to date. He would visit and make friends with others who were in the same kind of business. And do you want to know what happened, he developed new and bigger ideas. He experimented and took chances and expanded. He use to say, “A business is either going to go up or down, don’t ever expect to just stay the same.”
So break out of your ruts. Experiment, try something new and you will keep your mind fresh and feeling alive, and you will probably have a better chance of getting what you want or achieving your goal. You may even discover something better.
If you keep doing things that exact way you have been doing them don’t expect your life to change a whole lot. Don’t let that comfortable little routine you have hamper your dream or a goal because you are nervous about doing something different. Step out on faith, and ask God to lead you. And you may take on a giant and reap the reward.
Not a soldier on the field expected David to have a chance against a warrior like Goliath. But David stepped out on faith and trusted in the Lord, and did something different that no one expected with a simple stone and sling..
My challenge for you today is the same.. trust in your God given ability, walk with faith in Jesus and put Jesus and serving Him first in your life… and then watch and see what happens!
For more lessons click on the following link:http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566
