It was winter, and they were calling for snow. I didn’t believe it, because the weather report is hardly ever right; and as a result, I didn’t call and make arrangements for the neighbor to come with his tractor and shovel us out. Unfortunately for me, they got it right this time, for when I looked out the window, there was at least 20 centimeters of the white stuff covering my driveway. In order to get the car out, I would have to shovel…
Of course my husband was home; but it was early, and he was still asleep. Not wanting to wake him, I went out to the garage, and walking past the snow blower, I picked up the shovel. You see, I didn’t really know how to use the snow blower. Besides, it’s heavy and unwieldy, certainly not something that a weakling such as myself could push…
And so I proceeded to manually shovel out our long, wide drive.Needless to say, I was exhausted before I had finished half the job…
“Not so smart,” you are probably thinking, and you are right! I should have believed the weather report. I should have called the neighbor. When I didn’t, I should have waited for my husband to wake up and clear the driveway with the snow blower. And if I didn’t wish to wait that long, I should have used the snow blower myself. I had multiple solutions at my disposal, but I chose to ignore them all and do it the hard way.
This reminds me ofIsaiah 42. It is a powerful chapter, and I encourage you to read it in its entirety; but here are just a few highlights…
First we see a summary of God’s call on Israel: “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.” (Is. 42:6,7 NLT)
We then see God providing proof that He is who He is by showing how His prophecies have always come true and how He always announces what He is going to do in advance: “Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.” (Isaiah 42:9 NLT)
And we see God’s promise to go before Israel and fight their battles for them: “The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.” (Isaiah 42:13 NLT).
Next we see a dramatic turn in the prophecy: “‘Listen, you who are deaf! Look and see, you blind! You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.’…Because he is righteous, the Lord has exalted his glorious law. But his own people have been robbed and plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for anyone and have no one to protect them, no one to take them back home.” (Isaiah 42:18, 20-22 NLT)
In all of this, I can almost see God “pulling out His hair” and shouting, “I gave you everything you needed! I equipped you with more than you would need…but you refused to use it!”
And that’s pretty similar to the idea expressed by my husband when he woke up to find I had shoveled the driveway by hand…
The point is, God has promised to, “…supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19 NLT). That means that whatever it is we are destined to go through, whatever valleys we must walk, God, through Jesus, has already given us everything we need to overcome. That means the only reason we are feeling so discouraged and despondent is simply because we haven’t made use of what God has given us.
Are you not sure what kind of help God has given you that you may not be making full use of? Here’s a few examples:
1.His Word (John 17:14-19)
2. His promise that He will supply all of our needs (Phil 4:19)
3. His perfect track record of never letting us down (Isaiah 42:9)
4. His promise to never leave us or forsake us (Deut. 31:6).
Please understand that this doesn’t necessarily mean He will simply “rescue” us from the valleys. In fact, Jesus said, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” (John 17:15 NLT); and “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT).What it does mean is that He will hold our hands and help us through, no matter what. Our job in all of this is to accept His help, to open our blind eyes, to pay attention to what we see and read and hear, and to see the glory of the Lord being manifested in whatever situation we are going through at the moment.
God hasn’t abandoned us to our trouble. He has given us promises of help, He has said He would never leave us or forsake us (Deut. 31:6), and He keeps all His promises (Deut. 7:9). Why not reach out to His help today? Let’s use that snow blower! Or better yet, let’s believe the weather report and call the neighbor! Let’s use whatever help God has given us so that we are not doing it alone!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, andScriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, withAnswers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.