Nope Cat

 

Stuck between the corner of a wall and- gasp-water! And we all know how much most cats generally love water!

I saw this photo and laughed immediately. Not only have I experienced it with my cats, I’ve been in that same mental spot myself.

Stuck. In between a rock and a hard place.

So, is this you? Do you feel stuck? Trapped? No way out?

Personally, I’ve put up a fight with God more times than I care to count. I try to will something, to do it my own way. That’s always a great strategy, isn’t it? There have been a lot of times I wanted to go here or do this, all while God was telling me to go somewhere else and/or do something completely opposite of my supposed desires. Thus, bringing about a “no, no, no” shriek from me…

And, before you know it, I’m right where this nope cat is: stuck!

Sigh.

We all get some bright ideas; we all in our lives, think we have a better idea. But…

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

Just like this cat here? Nope!

Why do we insist doing it without God? We can’t, you know.

Each time we’re in a nope situation, I think it’s worth it to look at who stuck us there?

Was it God? Well, according to scripture…

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go: I will guide you with My eye.”

Psalm 32:8

“See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:19

So, guess not. If God says He’s leading and guiding us, making a way out of no way, then who in the heck put us in this nope spot?

Yeah, I know. Guess it’s us. There’s an unusual concept: we did it to ourselves. Yay.

But it’s not hopeless, even if we’re faced with a wall of our own making.

“Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.”’

Isaiah 59:1

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalms 46:1

 And yes, even if/when we’re stubborn, creating our own messes, feeling nothing but temptation, bad choices and failure, God is at work…

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
1 Corinthians 10:13

It’s not hopeless; you and I aren’t hopeless! We don’t have to be nope cats. We can always make another choice; we can choose to go to God, not our own devices, to help get- and keep- us out of the stuck corner spots. God wants to take us further than the place of that rock and hard spot!

Copyright © 2016 by Sheryle Cruse