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What Do You Do When You’re Completely Boxed In?

  • Writer: Hannah Nesher
    Hannah Nesher
  • 1 day ago
  • 3 min read

“God is faithful… He will also provide a way of escape.”

— 1 Corinthians 10:13


What do you do when you’re completely boxed in?


Trapped by circumstances outside of your control… when you feel totally stuck and can’t find a way out?


The other day, I went with my daughter Courtney to an appointment so I could watch my granddaughter while Courtney had some uninterrupted time. When we finished and came out to the car to hurry on to the next appointment, we discovered that we were completely boxed in by another vehicle parked far too close behind us.


In front of us was a construction fence blocking any possibility of moving forward. Behind us, the other car was practically touching our bumper, making it impossible to back up.


We were trapped.


Not knowing what else to do, we called the police and asked if the car could be towed. But the response was vague. We had no idea how long it would take — or even if anyone would come at all.


So there we sat… in a hot car with a small child, trying not to run the air conditioning too long because the gas tank was almost empty.


Doesn’t life sometimes feel exactly like that?


You can’t move forward.You can’t go backward.And you have no idea how to escape the situation someone else’s actions have put you in.


The Israelites must have felt this way at the Red Sea — the Egyptian army behind them, the sea before them, and mountains surrounding them on every side.


They cried out to God, the highest authority possible, and yet His answer must have seemed strange:

“Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.”— Exodus 14:15

Humanly speaking, there was nowhere to go.


Yet Moses lifted his rod as God instructed, the sea parted, and God made a way where there had been no way before.


God is still the Way Maker.


That sounds wonderful in Scripture… but Courtney and I still couldn’t see any way out of our situation.


“This is just like my life,” Courtney remarked honestly, thinking about circumstances where she also felt trapped and unable to see a solution.


Then she asked a simple but profound question:

“God, what do You want us to learn from this?”

Since we couldn’t sit there forever — eventually both the gas and our patience would run out — I felt compelled to walk over to the nearby construction site where a couple of Arab workers were standing.


I explained our problem and asked if there was any way they might help us get the car out.

I

mmediately, they came running over.


One got behind the wheel while the other carefully guided him, and with incredible skill they slowly maneuvered the car back and forth, inch by inch, until finally we were free.

Free to move forward again.


As we drove away, I looked at Courtney and said, “I think God just answered your question.”


The answer was simple:

Ask for help.


I felt strongly that the Lord was speaking something deeper to both of us:

“You cannot get out of this blocked situation on your own. You need help.”

There were already two organizations that had been mentioned to Courtney where help might be available, but sometimes humility is required to actually reach out and receive it.


Most of us like to think of ourselves as strong, independent, and capable. But there are seasons in life when we simply cannot free ourselves alone.


We need the wisdom, strength, encouragement, support, and practical help of others.

God often sends people as part of His answer.


We were never meant to carry every burden alone. We were created for community — to help one another, strengthen one another, and sometimes gently help pull one another out of places where we have become stuck.


Let us not be too stubborn or prideful to receive the help God provides.


And let us also be willing to help others when we see they are trapped and unable to set themselves free.


God truly does provide a way of escape… but very often, He uses people as part of that journey to freedom.


Shalom & blessings from Israel 🇮🇱



 
 
 

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