Just finished reading an account of a 35-year-old Haitian man who was pulled out alive from the rubble a full two weeks after the earthquake which devastated Haiti. Impossible, the authorities had said. But now, we rejoice in another life saved.
Why does this story touch our hearts so deeply? Because it brings us hope. Never, ever, ever give up. Many of us are going through trying times right now– not as desperate as being physically trapped in a fallen building – but there are times when emotionally it takes your breath away, times when there is nothing else we can do, times when we realize that there are things way too big to handle. Many, many times I used to tell the girls when they were little, “There are some things I can control, but this isn’t one of them.”
We can have hope, because there is a loving personal God. And as it said in my Bible this morning, “…and God knew their condition.” (Exodus 2.25) There are times when God provides deliverance as spectacular as the parting of the Red Sea. But there are times when God has us exactly where we need to be. And that is when His strength soaks us down to our very bones. God is not a cheerleader who says, “You can do it!!!!” No, He is God, the Creator of the universe. He says, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”(Matthew 14. 26-27) He is our strength. He is our hope. Our culture views hope as wishful thinking. But hope in the Bible is “that on which I stake my life.” Doesn’t get any better than that.
For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
--the God who girded me with strength,
and made my way safe.
He made my feet like hinds’ feet,
and set me secure on the heights.
…You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
Psalm 18. 31-36
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