Have you ever felt stuck? Maybe it was in a job, or maybe in a social gathering. Perhaps it was or is in your faith journey. It can be so frustrating and one can end up feeling like a hamster running on a wheel, going nowhere.

This past week my cat Vera had to be in her carrier twice. One day it was for a visit to the vet for her annual checkup and rabies shot. The next day she was sequestered in her carrier while the exterminator came for his quarterly visit and for the hour while the spray was drying. I’m not sure which one she disliked more, going for a car ride, which she  protests loudly, or staying at home but not able to roam about. She was very confused to be confined in the carrier once the exterminator left. I even unzipped a small opening so I could pet her, thinking that would be reassuring. It seemed to just confuse her more. 

Amid her cries for freedom, I started thinking about how it feels to be stuck in a situation that we can’t change. From my perspective, I was trying to be a good pet mom and keep my cat safe from chemicals that could harm her. But there was no way I could explain that to her. How many times has God allowed me to be in a certain situation or a certain place in my faith journey and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t move forward? Perhaps He did it because another better opportunity would be coming along. Perhaps He did it because I wasn’t ready to move on, even though I felt I was.  Perhaps he did it to keep me safe.

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.
Unless the Lord guards the city, in vain does the guard keep vigil.
It is vain for you to rise early, or put off your rest, 
You that eat hard-earned bread, for He gives to His beloved in sleep.

Psalm 127: 1-2

We may cry out to God that it’s not fair especially when we see that another is successful or starts something new while we remain where we are. Yet as Psalm 127 tells us, our actions will be in vain if we attempt to get ourselves out of our stuck situation. When we trust in God and give ourselves 100% to where we are, in time our faith journey will take us to the place where we need to be, when we need to be there.