Farm Life Adventure
Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)
There are some things that I can do by myself. There are other things that I cannot accomplish. It has taken me a lifetime to figure out which is which—and then to ask for help. I admit it: I am not good at asking for assistance from others. Cassandra Tiersma (Mornings with Jesus) tells us about her daughter’s plight with what seemed to be just a stone that turned into a boulder.
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Recounting her latest adventures in farm life, my daughter described how her shovel hit a rock when digging a hole for a tree she was planting. Certain she could just dig out the rock, she shoveled away. But the bigger she dug the hole, the bigger the rock became. Finally, she called in reinforcements to help excavate what was an enormous boulder. The task required a backhoe along with a massive steel pry bar and heavy chains to wrench the behemoth boulder free.
Visualizing the intense excavation process reminds me of the equally hard yet rewarding work of healing and recovery. Years of personal and ministerial experience in Celebrate Recovery, a Christian twelve-step program, taught me that digging deep to remove heavy, buried obstacles is not a solo job. It calls for reinforcements.
Whenever I’m in a hard place in life and bump into a deeply buried issue that I need help with, I call on Jesus for spiritual strength. He is the One who came to set me free. He’s the only One who can help me pry out those “boulders”—those buried issues—that would otherwise impede my growth. Jesus the Son of the God who can raise the dead to life, can certainly raise and remove any obstruction from the soil of my life. I thank Jesus that He frees up space in me so my faith and hope in Him can grow.
FAITH STEP: What issue in your heart needs to be healed? Ask Jesus to free you from the weight of it. Trust Him to do the heavy lifting.
Heavenly Father, thank You for all Your help. Teach us to call upon You instead of trying to accomplish life on our own. Guide us gently to You before we tire out, burn out, and go up in flames. AMEN.