Trapped

Have you ever been trapped in a tunnel, a long dark passage leading to nowhere? Were you lonely and afraid?

You don’t know where it leads to and you`re scared. What can you do? You have three choices. You can push on, hoping you`ll come to the end of it soon, you can stay where you are, waiting for someone to rescue you, or you can pray, “Lord, please help me. Show me the way out. Shine Your light into my situation.”

Or perhaps you`ve fallen into a pit. The sides are steep and there’s nothing to grab hold of that would enable you to climb out. It’s so deep no light can get in. You`re shrouded in darkness and you cry out, “Jesus, please help me. I’m scared.” But you’re not alone. He is with you, as He promised, “I am with you always.”

How did we find ourselves in such a place, where loneliness and fear are closing in? Perhaps we made a wrong decision and stumbled and fell.

Jesus walked the long, narrow way alone. He knew where He was going but nevertheless He prayed to His Father, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.” However, this was not in God’s plan. Jesus was on a mission whose destination was rejection and death. His prayer became, “Yet not my will, but yours be done.” He made the choice. For Him there was one way only, the way of the Father, through suffering. He had hope, certainty and conviction. But first He had to endure the pain.

It’s all about Jesus. We must turn our eyes away from our own situation in our weakness and fear, and look to Him, the only source of our faith. ‘For the joy set before Him He endured the cross.’

Can we walk through our own tunnel with Jesus? Yes, with the Lord by our side we can be confident, assured of His presence around us. “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). Even in the deepest pit we should have no fear, because He is with us. As we acknowledge His presence, our faith tells us we’re safe. Our love unites us with Him as we become as one together.

‘Do not be afraid or terrified… for the Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Our destiny is in Him as He is with us. Together we are inseparable. It may be a long and weary road but take heart. With Jesus at the centre, and as we look to Him and not to ourselves, we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. This is God’s way, the best way, and the only way.