Oh, God, my Lord, step in; work a miracle for me—you can do it! Get me out of here—your love is so great!—I’m at the end of my rope, my life in ruins. [Psalm 109:21-22 (MSG)]
In her book Almost Everything, Anne Lamott describes a young mother who, after surviving a grueling battle with cancer, saw its return a few years later. As her friends tried to reassure her with cancer survival stories, the woman cheerfully announced, “Oh, God’s got it!” Whether figuratively or literally, Lamott says she now wears those words on a necklace. I know that if I ever got a tattoo, I might choose the same words: “God’s got it!”
A story is told of a mountain climber who decided to make a solo ascent of the Aconcagua in Argentina. As the day wore on, a storm threatened. Although the thunder rumbled and the sky grew dark, the man was determined to continue rather than seek shelter. Suddenly a dense fog rolled in and it began to hail. Losing all visibility, the climber slipped on a ridge and fell. As he dropped through the air, he was sure that he’d die until the rope he’d secured caught and stopped him with a jolt. As the frightened man swung in the darkness, suspended he knew not where, he called out, “God, help me!”
A booming voice answered: ”What do you want me to do?” Swaying in the frigid night air, the man said, “Save me, please.” When God asked if the climber really believed He could save him, the man said, “Of course, I do. You’re God!” The man, however, changed his mind about trusting God when the voice in the darkness said, “Then cut the rope that is holding you up!” Refusing to let go, he just clung to his rope and swung over what seemed to be a bottomless abyss. After the weather cleared the following day, a group of climbers found the frozen man hanging from a rope, suspended just a few feet from a ledge and a recess that would have offered him safe shelter during the storm. That climber didn’t believe that, “God’s got it.”
When we’re at the end of our rope, it’s not enough to believe there is a God. We must believe in Him—in His word, promises, love, faithfulness, goodness, and power. Trusting Him with our lives, we must be willing to step out in faith, even if it means cutting a rope. If we want peace, we must believe that God’s got it!
Our pod is missing! Well, not exactly missing but no one can tell us where it is! We only know that the large box holding our precious possessions is no longer sitting in our driveway back in Illinois nor is it sitting in our driveway here in Florida. While the company promises us that it will arrive by September 29, their responses to our inquiries don’t inspire much confidence. How can they know when it will arrive if they don’t know where it is? Moreover, no one can tell us why it will take four weeks to travel 1,378 miles! Although I keep reminding myself that it’s just stuff, it is our stuff—the stuff we cared about enough to keep and move.
When I sit in front of my computer to start writing, I often wonder what makes me think I am qualified to spread the good news of the Gospel. I take comfort in the Apostle Paul’s similar feelings of inadequacy. Of all the people we meet in Scripture, Paul’s credentials (other than those of Jesus) seem to be the most impressive. Fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, from the tribe of Benjamin, and a second-generation Pharisee who had studied and trained under the respected Gamaliel, Paul was well-versed in the Hebrew Bible and passionate for Jesus. Yet, we know that even he sometimes felt inadequate to the task. Although extremely knowledgeable, by his own admission, his preaching ability left much to be desired.
Dorian has departed and we Floridians are taking down hurricane shutters and removing plywood from our windows. Some people avoided that task by having high-impact windows and doors that combine specially glazed impact-resistant glass with heavy duty frames that keep the glass from breaking away from its frame; while the glass may crack from a direct hit, it will not break. In theory, when a home or business has such glass installed, no additional shutters, screens, or plywood are necessary to protect it from the ravages of a hurricane.
The story is told of a circuit-riding preacher who never failed to thank God for the day’s weather. One Sunday, after battling through wind and sleet to his preaching appointment in a distant town, the congregation wondered how he could be thankful in such dreadful weather. When it came time for prayer, however, he said, “This is a wretched day, dear Lord, no doubt about it. But, we thank Thee, Lord, that every day isn’t as bad as this one!”
A few years ago, while skiing, I got lost during a snowstorm and ended up on a double-black diamond run. In knee-deep powder, I faced a narrow steep trail that was covered with ferocious-looking moguls. Looking down at the daunting terrain, tears filled my eyes. Picturing all that could go wrong, I wanted to quit but, unless I planned on staying there until the spring thaw, I had no option. If I wanted to get to the base, I had to get down that run and so I prayed for guidance. Words spoken by a ski instructor came to mind: “You can get down anything if you take it one turn at a time.” While I couldn’t picture doing the whole run, I could picture making just one turn and so I made that turn. Then I made another and another and got down that intimidating slope simply by taking one turn at a time.
Devotions of the Heart 