What to Do When the Walls Are Closing in
There’s a pileated woodpecker pounding at the bird feeder, and Caleb stands entranced at the window. The vibrance of autumn is a distant memory, and there are long, dark weeks until the first signs of spring. As I watch Caleb by the window, I admit it to myself: The walls are closing in, and I’ve discovered no helpful escape route just yet.
What do you do when you’re in the middle of a long, dark season and can see no way out?
Do This When the Walls Are Closing in
Elisabath Elliot, the wife of martyred missionary Jim Elliot, often quoted a poem titled “Do the Next Thing.” A portion of the poem speaks these words:
“Fear not tomorrow, child of the King, trust that with Jesus, do the next thing. Do it immediately, do it with prayer, do it reliantly, casting all care. Do it with reverence, tracing His hand, who placed it before thee with earnest command.”
I think of her words as I watch the woodpecker and long for springtime. I feel like lying motionless on the couch this afternoon, watching old episodes of Gunsmoke on MeTV.
I utter a quiet prayer for guidance to carry us through another winter day, and before the words are fully whispered from my parted lips, the buzzer on the dryer in the basement beeps.
I think about folding laundry with reverence, and I’m reminded of Brother Lawrence, the monk known for peeling potatoes with a worshipful heart. He knew the secret to living in communion with God through the most mundane tasks.
We All Have Hard Seasons
You might not feel stuck inside the walls of your house, but perhaps you feel stuck in a different way.
Maybe you’re navigating the broken road of a strained relationship.
Maybe you’re climbing out of a financial crisis. You wonder how you’ll ever get your feet back on solid ground.
Perhaps you have no clue how you’re going to climb out of your bed today. You have no idea how you’re going to go through the motions for one more single day of your life.
Maybe you’re ready to throw in the towel, call it quits, and walk out the door.
I’ve walked this road as well.
How to Keep Going When the Walls Are Closing in
But here’s the thing: When I can see no way out, I can choose to wallow in the valley of discouragement, or I can take one tiny step toward the light that will lead me out of the valley.
It’s far less complicated than it often seems. If I will simply resolve to do the next thing that needs to be done, I inch my way closer to the light. And every inch closer to the light is one inch closer to the healing I’m not even sure I can keep fighting for.
It might be a load of laundry, a stack of dishes, another day at the office, another diaper to change, or answering a phone call from a friend. When I make up my mind not to tackle the whole list, but to just take one step into the next task at hand, I begin to win the battle against the walls closing in on my soul.
When I can see no way out, I can choose to wallow in the thick of my pit, or I can do the next thing that is set before me. #victory #overcoming Share on XWe move forward when we continue to put one foot in front of the other and do the next thing.
The Next Thing…
And so . . . I roll off the couch.
I grab Caleb’s little hand, and we head for the laundry room.
He’s singing something, and I can’t quite make out the words.
We’re halfway through matching the socks when I realize he’s singing only one word over and over again. From his lips hearken this one word: “Hallelujah,” again and again.
Suddenly, I see it. I see the light leaking through the dark walls. Hope streams in. And I keep stepping toward the light.
A Free Devotional to Help You When the Walls Are Closing in:
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