You ever been stuck? Let me share a story that my cousins, to this day still, tease me about. We were hanging out at my one cousin's house. It was myself and two other boys, we'll call them A and T. In the living room there was a fold out couch and we were all laying on it watching TV or something. As boys are want to do my cousins decided to play a prank on me so while I was laying on the back part of the bed they began to fold it up. Fight as I might I was unable to push back against them and ended up folded up into the couch. Mind you, I am a big guy and was a pretty big kid so the bed wasn't able to close all the way. It was, however, closed enough that they cold lean the mattress up and begin to slide in back into the couch. So there I was up in the air pushed against the back of the mattress and thinking about how stupid this was. We were all laughing as they pushed down on the bed, trying to get it closed. Once we realized the couch wasn't going to go any further A & T said they were going outside to play. "Come on guys," I said, "get me out of here." They started trying to pull the couch apart but IT WAS STUCK!!!!! Try as they might they couldn't pull me free. This was no longer a GAME. I began freaking out yelling at them, "Get Me Out!" Even getting to the point where I was calling for my Momma. Since I am typing this, you know that eventually they managed to get me out and NO my momma was not called. So I ask the question again. Have you ever been stuck? In this post I shared a cute story from the book Desire by John Eldredge. It shares the story of a Sea Lion that gets stuck in the desert. As if that isn't silly enough it actually becomes used to living in a environment that is not its own. The last line of the little story says, "But as you know, once you have lived so long in a certain spot, no matter how odd, you come to think of it as home." This my friends is what I want to talk about today. This is different from the perilous situation I shared above. This is when we have gotten so comfortable with our situation, no matter how absurd, we don't even seek to change it. Let's consider Proverbs 6:9-11 which reads: 6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— 11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. I know that I have shared the above scripture in terms of being a good financial steward but I think it also speaks to being a good steward of your life in general. If you know that you are in a place that you shouldn't be. Somewhere that cannot sustain you. You need to move. You need to stretch and go. Don't think that because you can survive there doesn't mean that you should stake your claim. This is where I am right now. I have allowed myself to get stuck. This is not the position that a leader should allow themselves to be. Whether you are leading in a family, in business, or just leading yourself you have to push past the comfortable. You have to move beyond what you are used to and can tolerate. That is not what your business needs. That is not what your Family deserves. That is not what God has in store for you. You serve a God who is powerful and Mighty and he is growing and leading you. See who He is - Psalm 93:1-5: 1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. 2 Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. 3 The seas have lifted up, O Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is mighty. 5 Your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days, O Lord. Posted via email from Pulling It All Together