June 8, 2026
Monday, June 8
I remember seeing a trailer for the movie Walk the Line when it came out, twenty years ago. I was highly skeptical that Joaquin Phoenix could play Johnny Cash, but then I saw the movie.
There’s a scene midway through that sticks with me. Johnny has finally hit it big, and has invited his family and June Carter’s family to Thanksgiving dinner in his big house on a lake outside Nashville. His dad notices a tractor stuck in the mud outside the house, and reprimands Johnny in front of everyone for neglecting such an expensive piece of equipment. Mr. Cash has always been a stern father (to put it mildly) and Johnny was hoping he would be impressed, at long last, with his son’s superstar status. So later, during dinner, Johnny lashes out. And his father responds with these words:
“You're sitting on a high horse, boy. I never had talent; I did the best I could with what I had. Can you say that? Mr. Big Shot. Mr. pill-poppin’ rock star. Who are you to judge? You ain't got nothin'. Big, empty house. Nothin'. Children you don't see. Nothin’. Big old, expensive tractor stuck in the mud. Nothin'.”
Johnny sneers at first. He’s starting to think of a comeback. Then he stops. He realizes his dad has him nailed. In spite of all his success, he’s still a failure. A terrible husband and father, a drug addict, all empty inside. As everyone is getting into their cars to drive away, he’s on that tractor, cussing and pushing it as hard as it will go, hoping to get it unstuck, hoping that something in his life will move forward.
So far in this series about grit, we’ve talked about the endurance to stay involved in church, even when so many are dropping out. We talked about steadfastness even when you feel doubts about your faith. And last week, we talked about the perseverance to keep serving God with joy even when life gets difficult. This week, I want to talk about how to get unstuck. Truth be told, many Christians feel like that tractor, stuck in the mud.
Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe you have a terrible habit you can’t break, or a character flaw that never seems to change. Maybe it’s an addiction that’s making your life miserable, but you can’t stop. Or maybe it’s something you should be doing, but you’re not: You should forgive the people who hurt you. You should be compassionate toward people who don’t live up to your standards. You should find a ministry and start using your gifts to serve God. You should start supporting God’s work with your finances. You should reach out to someone in the name of Christ.
None of us is perfect; we all have areas of sin that we should be working on. But some of us aren’t working at all. We just left that tractor stuck in the mud, as if it was no big deal to waste the life that God redeemed with the precious blood of His Son. I’m happy to say that He’s a much more gracious Father than Ray Cash was in that movie, but He’s not going to let us settle for a stuck-in-the-mud life.
“Father, thank you for being a gracious father who loves me no matter what. But thank you also for loving me enough to not leave me stuck in the mud of my sin. Show me how to work alongside you in becoming who I was created to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
