Two Little Mice — Morning Devotions

By Chris WittsTuesday 27 Apr 2021Morning Devotions with Chris WittsDevotionsReading Time: 4 minutes

I have often heard the story of the two little mice that fell into a bucket of cream. It’s not true of course—only a story. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. But the second mouse wouldn’t give up.

He struggled and kept swimming—his little legs churning through the cream as he tried to keep himself afloat. The little mouse struggled so hard that eventually he churned the cream into butter and crawled out.

It’s a cute story with many lessons to think about. You’ve got to respect the second mouse because he made a choice in the midst of a difficult situation. Sometimes we feel like we’ve fallen into a bucket of cream and we can’t get out—we’re stuck.

When we feel stuck

We can find ourselves in situations where we think we will drown, or overwhelmed by life’s complexity. At times we feel like we’re in a season of drought. We sense we’re in a season of incredible challenge and growth. It’s painful. It hurts.

Maybe you feel you are stuck in a marriage where there is no love. Maybe you feel like you’re stuck financially. You may just feel like you’re stuck on a particular level of life you should have been over a long time ago, but that just hasn’t happened, and you feel stuck. It could be your job, which you hate—but you’re too old to change now.

God is in the midst of every situation.

But the season is there for a reason. And it has to do with a God who loves you and cares for every detail of your life. If you feel stuck today, can I encourage you to stop and reflect? God is in the midst of every situation we find ourselves in.

Don’t give up

I heard of a man who was worried. He said, Everyone is worried about the economy this year. My hairline is in recession; my waistline is in inflation, and altogether I am in depression! I guess the comments were made in fun, but they reminded me that people face pressure, problems, and pain as a part of their everyday existence.

Normally people face the stress of life and just keep ploughing through, day after day. Occasionally the pressure gets to them, and they crack, crumble, and crash. They’re like the first mouse—they give up. They’re left hurting and hopeless. For many, hopelessness has become their existence.

When you feel hopeless, don’t give up—talk to God.

It’s at this point that we must strive to discover how the pressure of life can help us find hope instead of despair. Hope keeps us going in the midst of the troublesome times. G.K. Chesterton once said that “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless.” Don’t give up. Talk to God. He is there beside you. Hard times come to all of us, but he has prepared a way through, and a way out.

I once heard a story about a little league baseball game. A man approached the game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was:

• “Eighteen to nothing, we’re behind.”
• “Boy,” said the spectator, “I’ll bet you’re discouraged.”
• “Why should I be discouraged?” replied the little boy. “We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!”

Our hope is based on Jesus

As you can see hope is looking outside of the context to something better, something firm and something dependable. Hope anchors itself in something objective and apart from the present hopeless circumstances. Maybe that’s where you’re at today. You sense there is no way out of your predicament.

It is a good feeling to have hope. One walks with a smile; the world seems lighter, and one walks with a skip in the step. However, we need to keep in mind that hope is not found in our feelings nor is hope a feeling. Hope is not found in how good or bad you feel about yourself or the world around you.

Have hope today as you trust in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.

Often we judge things on how good we feel. If we have excitement about an idea, we say that we are hopeful. But, like the current circumstances of life and our abilities, feelings can come and go. Feelings of hope rise and fall like the waves of the ocean.

Hope must have an object—and that object is God’s faithfulness shown to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Because of God’s faithfulness to us in the person of Christ we have salvation. In Christ, we have the promise of the resurrection and the promise that everything will be OK in the end. Have hope today as you trust in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.