Feeling like you’re in a spiritual stalemate? Here are three things to do when you feel stuck!
If you’ve ever had a car break down, you know that one of the most challenging parts about the situation is this—you feel stuck. You turn the key and nothing. You have a desire to get moving, but you are going nowhere fast.
The first thing most people do in this situation is try and determine what caused the vehicle to come to a halt. If you’re mechanically inclined, you’ll pop the hood and start checking different components one at a time. The bottom line is—as long as you don’t fix the problem, you won’t move forward and get to your destination.
The same is true when you’re stuck in a spiritual stalemate. Maybe you have unfulfilled dreams and visions or feel like you’ve been standing on the same Word for an eternity without any signs of a manifestation. No matter what you do, you feel stuck.
You get out your spiritual tool belt and try everything you have—fasting, prayer, going to the altar, speaking confessions. Stuck. Then, the questions come: Why am I not getting what I’m believing for? Why am I not being promoted in life? You know you’re missing out on God’s promise of abundance, but you aren’t sure how to get there. Here’s the problem:
The same old thinking will get the same old results.
There is a path to the destination you desire to reach. God doesn’t make promises that are inaccessible, but He does expect you to get out your spiritual map, learn to use the tools He’s given you, and be willing to make the changes that will help you arrive at your destination. If you’re ready to get back on the road to victory, here are 3 things to do when you feel stuck.
1. Pay Attention to the “Ifs” in the Bible
“If you are willing and obedient….” –Isaiah 1:19 (NKJV)
If is a big word in the Bible. It speaks directly to our responsibility when it comes to receiving from God. Quite often, God will say, “If you do this, I will do that.” And it started at the very beginning of your relationship with the Lord. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (NKJV). The promise is salvation; the “if”—or the condition—is that you first confess and believe.
If you’re believing for something today—finances, healing, deliverance, restoration of a relationship, there is a promise for you in the Bible—and one way or another it is attached to an “if.” Yet so many Christians stand on the promises of God, believing to receive, but don’t fulfill the prerequisites. They like the idea of cashing in on all of God’s promises, but they’re less keen on mapping out the road to get there. Then, they’re left wondering why it hasn’t come to pass.
That’s why so many people will declare, “I am the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath” (Deuteronomy 28:13), but they forget about the rest of the verse: “If you heed the commandments of the Lord your God” (NKJV). So, if you’re standing on the promise of being the head and not the tail, above and not beneath in your job, your finances, your family, or any life situation—check the “if.” Are you heeding (obeying) His commandments?
Which commandments? All of them! Are you loving others according to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8? Are you free of unforgiveness? Do you keep yourself from gossip, coarse speech and financial manipulation? Are you tithing? One area of disobedience could be what is holding you back. So, if you’ve been stuck, spiritually speaking, perhaps there is an “if” that needs to be addressed.
That’s why Gloria Copeland has said on so many occasions, “You’ve got to read the ifs in the Bible. You can’t have the blessings without fulfilling the ifs.”
Some people don’t want to think about what their responsibility is in receiving from God. But to fulfill the “ifs” in the Bible, you must have a willing heart. Keith Moore has said, “Being willing is extremely important to the Lord.” You can actually do something without a willing heart, but you won’t receive a reward for it. It’s the willingness that brings the reward.
Willing—to do what?
Be willing to change. Be willing to lay hands on the sick. Be willing to do whatever God tells you to do. And then back it up with obedience. That’s the “if” we find in Isaiah 1:19 (NKJV):
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.”
In other words, how we live down here is our choice. We can be willing and obedient, or we can rebel and be disobedient. If we’re willing and obedient, things will work well in our lives. There will be prosperity, fullness, peace and joy. But if we stay in disobedience, things aren’t going to go well with us. If you’ve been feeling spiritually stuck, make a decision today to go with God where He leads you. Each day, say, “Lord, what would You have me do today?”
Exodus 15:26 (ESV) is an “if” to consider, if you need healing in your body:
“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and…keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you…for I am the Lord, your healer.”
If you will diligently listen. Now, that doesn’t mean you just listen once a week or you just listen when it happens to be convenient for you to hear the Word. You’ve got to be diligent in pursuing the voice of God, and His Word, to walk in His blessings. Even in the new covenant, if your mind is not renewed by the Word of God, you’ll end up under the domination of your flesh.
Find 4 Ways to Know if You’re Hearing God’s Voice here.
There is certain victory in hearing and doing the Word of God.
2. Take Love to the Next Level
“Faith…worketh by love.” –Galatians 5:6 (KJV)
If you’ve been feeling stuck in your spiritual life—not seeing manifestations of what you’re believing for—your love walk is a critical place to check. You’re stalemated, and if you’re not walking in love, your faith won’t work. And without your faith in operation, those things you’re believing for aren’t going to come to pass. That’s why we talk about walking in love so much—it’s a prerequisite for promotion!
To take love to the next level and walk in love as God has commanded, you will put others’ interests ahead of your own, and you won’t be touchy and easily offended. This is the divine love gauge. As long as you take account of the evil done to you, you’re not walking in love. This might seem difficult at first (it takes practice!), but the reward is great.
Watch Kenneth Copeland as he shares how High-Octane Faith Runs on Love.
Most of us truly desire to obey the second greatest commandment (it covers every Old Testament commandment!), but we can easily slip out of love if we do not pay close attention. You have to pay close attention to your love gauge and get yourself back on track quickly when you slip. Some of the life circumstances that can cause us to fall off the love line include:
- A hurt or betrayal that builds into bitterness and unforgiveness over time
- Spending time watching or listening to negative, critical programming
- Giving ear to the voice of bitter or critical people on a regular basis
- Failing to receive a promise you’ve been standing for in faith, and allowing disappointment to turn into cynicism or envy
- Allowing your flesh to develop a habit (complaining about drivers on the road, talking about other people at church, griping to your spouse about the neighbors).
If you find yourself in one of these situations, there is good news for you—it is correctable! The most dangerous thing you can do is remain in any one of these states. Instead, make a decision today to forgive, throw off bitterness, spend time with positive people, turn off the news, and bite your tongue when you want to complain. Make a change!
Write out 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 on a 3×5 card, and recite it out loud twice daily until it sinks into your spirit and you start to see a noticeable change. Make a quality decision (one you can’t turn back from) that from this day forward, you are going to love others—sincerely—the way God has commanded you to, no matter what happens.
Learn to let God’s love dominate you in every area of life. Take love to the next level—be patient and kind, believe the best in others, don’t take into account the wrongs that are done to you, don’t brag or be rude. When you do these things, you’ll turn around one day and say, “I’m not stuck anymore! I’m moving forward, glory to God!”
3. Increase Your Bible Patience
“Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” –James 1:4 (NKJV)
In a world that thrives on instant gratification, patience isn’t popular. In fact, there was a well-known poster at one time that read, “Give me patience, and I want it NOW!” Yet, as one of the fruit of the spirit, we know it is something we should aspire to achieve and walk in daily. God never calls us to do anything that we cannot do, or anything that is not to our ultimate benefit. So, no excuses!
Faith sounds a lot more exciting than patience, doesn’t it? But, the truth is, faith doesn’t work without patience. If you can learn to increase your Bible patience, you can get anything because you’ll get on the Word of God and stay there until the manifestation comes.
With faith, you get started. With patience, you finish the race.
So, what does Bible patience look like? In the natural, or in traditional religious circles, patience just means to grin and bear it. Or not even grin—just endure it. But that’s not Bible patience.
Bible patience is that force in our reborn spirit, based on the Word of God, that won’t quit. Bible patience will go after something as long as it takes. For example, if you’re believing for healing and it’s been three weeks but you haven’t seen a change, patience will come and undergird your faith. It will keep you standing and believing the Word of God until the full manifestation comes.
So, what should you do when you have symptoms, and you pray, and nothing happens? Bible patience knows if you believed you received it—you have it. So, Bible patience won’t call people on the phone and say, “Well, I prayed about it, but I didn’t get anything.” No. You take it when you pray. Don’t give it up until that prayer is fully answered and your healing is fully manifested.
It’s the same way with money. You might be believing for something big— a house, a car—and it’s been a month or two. You can’t tell anything has changed. What do you do? You do the very same thing you did on the first day. You believe you receive it. You don’t give up just because time has passed.
Bible patience does not surrender to circumstances.
When circumstances say, “You didn’t get it. You don’t have a car to drive. You didn’t get that car,” patience just reiterates whatever it’s standing on from the Word of God. It’s not moved by the whys. You don’t receive it when it’s parked in your garage—you receive it when you pray. Bible patience won’t be talked out of it. That’s how you keep from getting stuck—from failing to move a spiritual inch. You hold on to Bible patience.
Faith with patience always works.
Now, if you haven’t been operating in Bible patience, don’t say, “Well, I believe I’ll try that.” You don’t try it—you do it. You just stay with it until the answer comes. You’ll never get anywhere in faith without applying patience. And when you do, nothing will be impossible for you.
In conclusion, when you pay attention (and act on!) these three things when you get stuck—the “ifs” in the Bible, your love walk, and Bible patience, you are in position to break loose and break through! Those things you’ve been believing for—don’t give up. If they are in God’s Word, they belong to you. God wants you to have them. So, get moving!
Related Articles:
The “Ifs” Between You and Your Promise
© 1997 – 2024 Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. Aka Kenneth Copeland Ministries. All Rights Reserved.