“I’m Stuck!” by Karen Hauser
Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukalson of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonianswill live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’ 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”
4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”
5 “He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.”
6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
7 But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite,an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, 8 Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.”
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. (Jeremiah 38:1-13)
As my husband, Bret and I were Kayaking this summer, we decided to go to a Lake in East Texas and take a “Night Tour” on the water. It was a beautiful night with a bright moon and the majestic sounds of nature on the water. Our Lead Guide was great and there were about 10 Kayaks on the water. The Lead Guide is in front with a red light on his boat and the Tail Guide was appropriately placed with a red light on her boat as well for anyone who may straggle behind. It is dark and they don’t want to lose anyone. I like that plan!
Bret and I each have our own Kayak. The night had been going great and we were really enjoying how different the water looks, the birds begin to land and new creatures come out after the sun goes down. He had paddled just a little ahead of me when all of the sudden I felt my boat bump just a little and then realized I could not move it! No matter how much I wiggled, (which isn’t a lot in a Kayak by the way) or jiggled (again not a lot of that either), I could not move. Bret quickly realized I was not coming and asked; “Are you stuck?” I gave him a quick update and he paddled back to me. He pushed, and nothing. He pushed again and still nothing. Then he told me to hold on because he was going to lift my boat up and then push it. He did and I was free!! By this time the Tail Guide had gotten to us to make sure everything was alright. We assured her it was and began paddling to catch up to the rest of the gang.
I could not thank Bret enough. My hero! He said I must have hit a stump just right and a branch caught my drain hole. That’s the only explanation he had. Made sense to me! Then he added that sometimes in life, you will get stuck. And, the only way to get moving again is to have someone come along, lift you up and give you a good shove.
Just like Jeremiah needed help when he was thrown into the cistern and sank into the mud. It took 30 men to get him out! But only AFTER Ebed-Melek had gone to the King and asked for him to be released. Now I did not get stuck because of anything I had done for God. I was just stuck. But, I loved the point my husband made, not just that we all need a good push now and then, but that sometimes we can be so down, that we need to be lifted up and then pushed.
I was sharing this story with two of my dear Sisters in Christ and we realized that God, more often than we know, lifts us up and gives us a push. Either through family, a friend, scripture or music, He lifts us up!
Praise God for always being everything we need. Have you been stuck lately? Maybe someone you know needs some help up? I can’t promise you’ll never be metaphorically thrown into a cistern or stuck on a stump. But I can promise that if you have God as your Guide, He has the ability to free you.