It sure feels unfair to be stuck in a rut that you didn't have a hand in causing, but what do you do when the problem that stifles you is actually caused by you?

Apparently, many just try to get away from the problem and not accept the responsibility for it. My friends, this kind of response is just plain wrong and immature.

Being Responsible

God tells us in His Word that He wants to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and our only part in that is to confess our sins in submission to Him. 1 John 1:8-9 perfectly explains how simple the process really is:

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The starting point of this, my friends, is simply owning up to our sins and coming clean before the Lord, who is more committed than us to cleanse us and renew our minds.

Still Stuck In A Rut

OK, you've tried confessing and then taking responsibility for your sin, but you still feel stuck in the same mess that you've entered in by doing what was wrong. You feel like hope is gone, and you can't get out. But can't you really?

My friend, let me encourage you. Although it's admittedly our fault that we get ourselves stuck in a mess because of the wrong decisions we made in disobedience to God, He still wants to redeem us and set us free from the self-made problems that entangle us. He has the power to free us.

Read what God said in Isaiah 48:17-20 regarding the matter. Although He was specifically speaking to rebellious Israel, let us understand that when we choose to go our own way and not follow God, it's already disobedience and rebellion against the Lord.

"This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore— too many to count! There would have been no need for your destruction, or for cutting off your family name.' Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon and the Babylonians. Sing out this message! Shout it to the ends of the earth! The Lord has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel."

My friend, even if we're stuck in a hole that we ourselves dug, God wants us to be free from it. "Yet even now, be free from you captivity!" Choose to get out of that pit by following God.