Going Nowhere on the Way to Somewhere

Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. Col. 1:11

I had several weeks of therapy where I looked at this staircase. Immediately I noticed that these steps didn’t lead anywhere. As a matter of fact, they set against a wall. One day during therapy I told my therapist, “I’m going to write a blog about these stairs.” The staircase that leads nowhere, but develop steps and strength for all who endeavor to climb them.

Here are some questions I pondered as I looked at these steps each week: Do you ever feel like you are going nowhere? Do you ever feel like you are hitting a wall? Do you ever sense what you are doing is not making a difference? I think we all do at times. Most of us desire to live a life of significance while doing those things that produce the results we truly desire. Nonetheless, in reality it is often the most insignificant experiences, or, the most common routines, that usually produce the most significant results in our lives. 

I was in therapy for my shoulder, not my legs. Therefore, I never walked up those steps that led to nowhere. However, I did gently push against a wall with my arm and wrist. And, I also took a towel on that same wall, wiping in a continuous circular motion. At the time these activities seemed redundant, nonproductive, and ineffective. I’m sure that those who walked up and down the steps that led to nowhere, felt the same way at some point too. But, nevertheless, I went from gently pushing and wiping on a wall, to eventually lifting weights. 

Sometimes the purpose is found in the process. Many times it’s the process that develops our progress. Sometimes it’s the daily routines and disciplines of life that develop us. Sometimes it’s the mundane movements of the moment, that create miraculous results over time. Although these steps lead to nowhere, they will eventually help develop someone’s steps, through a rigorous routine of redundancy. They will help strengthen someone’s stability over time. They will help establish someone’s balance, while producing strength, to climb up stairs somewhere, someday. You see these stairs weren’t designed to lead somewhere. They were designed to help develop someone’s strength, so they can walk up stairs again someday.  The staircase that leads to nowhere is not meant to give access. It’s meant to develop one’s balance and increase one’s steps. 

Here’s my point. In life there are many times when you will feel like what you are doing is leading nowhere, while producing minimal results. Here are some biblical examples that should encourage you. Jesus lived thirty years of his life in a community, a classroom, and a carpenter’s shop. He did this before He ever forgave a sin, spoke to a storm, or made the lame to walk.  John the Baptist lived in the wilderness in obscurity eating wild locust and honey. He did this before he proclaimed the way of our Lord and eventually baptizing Jesus. David tended to his father’s sheep on the backside of a mountain and delivered cheese sandwiches to his brothers and Saul on the battle lines. He did this before he defeated the giant with a sling and a stone. 

The steps in this picture that lead to nowhere will allow someone to gain stability and  balance over time. This will eventually enable them to walk with strength out of the facility that these steps set in. The steps that appear to be leading nowhere, are ultimately leading someone, somewhere. They are ultimately enabling a person to be able to walk up the stairs of a business one day, or even the stairs of their home someday. The key is: keep stepping, keep walking, and keep developing your stability and strength. This in time, will produce a constancy to overcome. 

You may be closer than you think you are! And you are probably doing better than you think you are too! The things that you may discount, or despise, are the very things that are developing you into the person you need to be. They are also leading you to the very place you need to be as well. And, when you arrive you will be equipped with everything you need. I can now move my arm with ease and sleep with minimal pain. But, it all began by gently pushing on a wall.

Keep reading your bible even when you feel like it’s not making a difference. You are hiding the living word of God in your heart and establishing it in your mind. Keep attending church even when you don’t feel like it. You are developing a divine discipline that will create a defining testimony in your life, and in the lives of others. Keep praying even when you don’t see the manifestation of your desired results. Your prayers are being heard and you are coming into agreement with heaven. You are invoking God, your creator and maker, in whom, nothing is impossible! 

Don’t despise small beginnings. Don’t overlook the daily routines of your life. God may be using them to develop you. Keep walking. Keep striving. Surrender. Stay open. Be obedient. It may look like you are going nowhere; but, you are on your way to somewhere. You are being  strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.