“No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word–He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].” 1 Corinthians 10:13 AMP

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have days where the reality of this scripture is difficult to grasp. There are times in life when it feels as though I’ve stepped into emotional quicksand. It seems one thing goes wrong, and then another, and another, and I feel my spirit being dragged down. In these moments, the harder I struggle against the downward pull, the faster I seem to sink…quicksand. Quicksand is defined as loose wet sand that yields easily to pressure and sucks in anything resting on or falling into it.

As you can imagine, the worst thing to do at times like those is panic. Yet, that is exactly what happens. The mind drops into a spin of emotional panic, thoughts and feelings flailing about, searching for something to grab hold of in order to stop the spin. Logic, along with the scripture above, dictates that we grab hold of God. The difficulty comes when one doesn’t always remember how to do that. I find myself reaching for Him, that little girl trapped in a dark room, in a panic to find the light switch. Have you ever noticed how much more challenging it is to find what you’re looking for when you’re in a panic to find it? For a time, my sister was able to reach out, no matter how far I’d sunk or how dark my corner of life had gotten, and nudge me towards the Lord. I don’t have that with her right now, and I don’t know if I’ll ever have it again. Thankfully, God has blessed me with a deeply faithful man who is always there to pray and love me through every moment, regardless of the circumstance.

It’s so easy to get lost in our own troubles. Our pastor reminded us that “brokenness is when you come to the end of you.” When we feel swallowed up by grief, pain, fear, anxiety, or any other negative emotion that rises up in the human mind, our focus feels cemented on that feeling. We wonder if it will ever actually end. We find ourselves starting to panic that it won’t ever end, which only serves to pull us further into the emotion from which we’re trying to break away. It is a truly vicious cycle. It is Satan’s treadmill…and he uses it to great effect against God’s children.

Here’s the proverbial reality: we can choose to pick our feet up and let the treadmill run on without us. What God wants us to understand is that we are completely supported by Him at ALL times. When the enemy cranks up the speed on that emotional treadmill, we feel compelled to move with it, our legs moving beneath us trying to keep up the pace. It’s no wonder we begin to feel worn out and broken down. We forget that the arms of God are wrapped around us, and if we lift our feet up off that cruel, speeding surface beneath us, we will be able to rest. The Lord is continually whispering in our ears, “Pick your feet up…I’ve got you…LET. IT. GO.” We need to find a way to drown out the noise of that spinning machine, and focus on the whisper in our ear.

That is where prayer and scripture study come into play. When we choose to exist in a constant state of worship, always turning our minds towards God and the blessings He brings to our lives, the noise of the enemy diminishes. Prayer combined with the Word of the Lord invite the Holy Spirit to act in our lives. Peace is there waiting for us any time we choose to pick our feet up and rest in God. The work comes in letting go of the belief that we must keep running or it will all fall apart. The peace comes in accepting that we aren’t the ones holding everything together in the first place, so it’s ok to stop flailing about in panic. It’s ok to hear the whisper of our Heavenly Father saying, “Pick your feet up, child…I’ve got you,” and then do exactly that.