What to Do When You Feel Stuck

Road trips are exciting, but there’s nothing more frustrating than a flat tire or unexpected delay to halt your plans. It’s one thing to feel stuck on a road, but more disheartening to feel stuck in life. What do you do when your plans fail, your efforts fall flat, or you hit an impasse that feels impossible? Let’s open up the Scriptures as our roadmap.

1. Embrace the Detour

It’s important to remember that detours and delays are not dead-ends. Often, God wants to do a new thing in our life, but we are afraid to let go of our plans. Releasing our expectations helps us to surrender to God and His higher ways.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.
Psalm 40:1-3

2. Enjoy the Scenic Route

Life is full of setbacks. If we let every setback determine our state of mind, we’ll miss out on what God wants to show and teach us. When God takes you on the scenic route, remember to express gratitude and ask Him to help you see what He sees. 

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

3. Remove Roadblocks

Sometimes the reason we are stuck isn’t because of our circumstances but because of our sin. Forging our own path leads to unintended consequences. Ask God to help you identify any areas of your life that aren’t in alignment with His best plan. Ask for forgiveness and for strength as you remove every hindrance in your relationship with Him. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-3

4. Trust the Guide

If the plan of your life looks different than what you mapped out, trust your guide—the Holy Spirit. There isn’t a roadblock too big for Him or a detour that surprises Him. 

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
John 16:13

What is impossible for people is possible with God.
Luke 18:27

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2 

5. Keep the Destination in Mind

The destination might feel like your career, your family, or your next move in life—but actually, it’s eternity. When we keep eternity in mind, we remember that our trials are temporary, but our faith in God lasts forever.  

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:1-2

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:18

For more Summer Road Trip series resources, click here.