One day Gilligan ventures off as usual into the jungle. After a few hours the Skipper knows Gilligan's absent-minded behavior, gets a little worried and goes trotting off looking for him. After a while the Skipper hears Gilligan's squeaky voice in the distance yelling, "SKIPPER, SKIPPER, SKIPPER HELP!!!!"
The Skipper follows his voice and finds Gilligan stuck in a quicksand pit with only his head showing above the surface. As usual Gilligan has got himself in a mess that only the Skipper can get him out of. The Skipper looks in disgust, yet with a feeling of no surprise and reluctances pulls Gilligan out from the pit. However, not without being tempted to leave his sorry little skinny self in there. However, here is what we didn't see.
While Gilligan was yelling for the Skipper to rescue him, the boy thrashed around swinging his arms and reaching for anything that could get him to a more solid foundation. But, the more he yells, and the more he thrashes he sinks faster and further downward into the pit until he is up to his neck in thick mud. He physically can't move his body from the shoulders down. So needless to say, Gilligan is forced to stop moving and consequently he stops sinking and buys more time in order for the Skipper to come rescue him from the quicksand pit.
The moral of the story is this: Each one of us has at one time or another found ourselves in a state of mind like our friend Gilligan. We struggle in the quicksands of life's experiences We get lost from God, bound by Satan's lies and we cry out for help. "Oh God, please help me with this situation. We don't hear from God on in our time frame so we think God is not hearing us. So what do we do then? We yell louder, we thrash around more by complaining, getting angry with others and we grow impatient with God. We might even take on the attitude, "I'll figure out a way to get out of this on my own, thank you very much."
All the while we keep sinking down, down and down. Then, when everything has surrounded us and we have a chokehold of life around our necks we find ourselves having a feeling of being paralyzed, weighted down with life's burdens and feelings of hopelessness.
But miraculously this is about the time God tends to show up, so we think. We finally have been forced to stop trying to do it ourselves; our arms and self-centered attitudes have been beaten down to the point of total emotional exhaustion. We feel we just can't do this alone and we decide that our prideful nature has gotten the best of us, and our way is really getting us nowhere. It is only then, that we become still in our hearts and start to listen for that quiet voice of God, who really has been there all along. When God sees this he reaches out his hand and pulls us out to safety and strengthens us with peace once again. Hopefully, by our own experiences in life we learn from this old boy Gilligan; living for another episode of life taking us that much closer into the presents of God.
Points to Ponder: Are you growing impatient with God about something in your life? Are you not trusting him enough and have the attitude that you can do it yourself? Do you hear God's still quiet voice speaking to your heart, but avoiding it?
The Challenge: This week take your worries, write them down on paper. (Be specific) crumple the paper in your hands and throw it in the trashcan. This will be a symbol of you trusting God to pull you out of your quicksand pit. The key is to leave them in the trash. If you don't God can't help you according to his word. We live by faith not by sight!
Greg Ryan is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT series. A powerful five step plan to better your life, get healthier, and have more energy! For FREE mini Course click here! http://www.resolutions.bz
town car ride to ohare Bethalto .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareOne of the most difficult barriers... Read More
Greetings Divine Ones, I am going to ask you a... Read More
Prior to the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United... Read More
His name sounds as Finn. He has beautiful blue eyes... Read More
I am a big believer in the strength of a... Read More
African-American people are natural caretakers. We do a great job... Read More
The time we spend on earth is very short when... Read More
Behold, a certain young maiden did often times and at... Read More
"We're one, but we are not the same."-Bono, U2Once I... Read More
This article is the 1st part of an open response... Read More
You're probably sabotaging your successful Christian life right now if... Read More
I once read a story about a Catholic priest who... Read More
A year ago, a beautiful woman came to see me.... Read More
Some may ask what is the true will of God... Read More
The junk I'm talking about is the stuff that we... Read More
Not going to church has the advantage of having free... Read More
How do we feel the fullness of life itself?We have... Read More
Worldwide extensive research is being published related to the mind-body... Read More
Many of us are on an inward or outward path-to... Read More
The Kundalini is a pool of energy that lies dormant... Read More
I am often asked to explain what I mean by... Read More
Anyone who has invested time, energy and effort into finding... Read More
In the golfing world, yesterday may have been one of... Read More
Love...it's a deep emotion. Sometimes we say it in jest... Read More
IS FAITH - NOT VITAMIN C WHAT'S MISSING FROM YOUR... Read More
Gurnee Lincoln Stretch rentals ..Imagine for a moment. It's Tuesday night about 7pm. You... Read More
What is a Christian? According to The American Heritage? Dictionary... Read More
Good morning Roy, good morning Joseth. (Channelled)From time to time... Read More
Ephesians 4:4-6 indicates that Christians ought to practice one single... Read More
Life is growth. For many people life is like a... Read More
The myths of man have been with us throughout time.... Read More
Fanny J. Crosby's famous hymn, "Tell Me the Story of... Read More
We desire to understand the world by giving names to... Read More
We have a proclivity to think of individuals and nations... Read More
Matthew 1:1-17The Genealogy of Jesus Christ1 The book of the... Read More
An Introduction to MatthewSETTINGHave you ever been promised something wonderful,... Read More
Vanity - it's easy to mask, easy to forget, and... Read More
In his book, Stress Without Distress, Dr. Selye suggests that... Read More
What we think is what we are. Our lives are... Read More
If you're going to listen to anyone you're going to... Read More
The Birth of Jesus Christ18 Now the birth of Jesus... Read More
The Tarot is not just a divinatory tool, but it... Read More
An exam is a test that is given at the... Read More
Why do we have an Ego?Almost all spiritual guides say... Read More
Obviously, if you really want to learn about the meanings... Read More
Years ago no matter where I lived, whether a house... Read More
I had visions of my daughter for about five years... Read More
Ok, let's start with the amazing story of Robbie and... Read More
When we find spirituality, or it finds us, the experience... Read More
Are you looking for a way to improve your accuracy... Read More
Spirituality |