Vertically Challenged?

I have a precious friend who is, indeed, vertically challenged.  By that, I mean she is a little less than five feet tall.  Phyllis grew up in the northeast corner of North Carolina.  Winter could bring feet of snow overnight.  Because they lived in a rural area, Phyllis rode a bus to school.  Overnight snows could cause difficulty for Phyllis to get from their farmhouse, down the long lane, to the area where she would have to wait for the bus to pick her up.  Often, the snow had drifted to as high as her waist.  With her shorter legs, she would be wet and covered in snow by the time she got to the end of the gravel driveway.  In addition, the drifts often covered the ditches and the hills that could result in a tumble for a very little girl who could not see where to step next.

Do you ever pause in the busyness or craziness of your life, look ahead, and become overwhelmed at where to step next?  Have you ever faced an obstacle that seemed insurmountable?  Have you felt lost as to which way to go?  Do you ever just want to sit down and do nothing because you are so unsure of what to do next?  Life gets so big, so confusing, so disappointing, that sometimes we, as women, just want to pull the cover over our heads and wait for life to sort itself out before we ever get out of bed.

In II Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, faced an attack on Jerusalem by her enemies, the Ammonites.  In II Chronicles 20:12, the King of Judah prayed before the Lord God, declaring:  Oh, God.  We cannot stand in the face of this attack.  We are too weak in the face of this onslaught.  We have no hope.  We do not know what to do.  BUT our eyes are turned to you.  (paraphrased)  In other words, Jehoshaphat was saying, “Father, we don’t have a clue as to what to do.  We can’t fix this ourselves.  The only hope we have is You.  Help.”  If you read the rest of the chapter, you will find that God did what only He can do.  He took over the problem for His children, defeated their enemies, and blessed the faith of Jehoshaphat.

My friend Phyllis was overwhelmed by the impossibility of fighting her way through the snow to catch the bus.  She dreaded it every morning during the winter.  She did not want to go to school if it required such a battle every morning.  Finally, she mentioned it to her dad.  The next morning, when she went outside to begin her trek, she was amazed to see footprints in the snow.  As she stepped into the first footprint and, then, the second, she realized that these footprints had been made with a very short stride, just right for her short legs.  From that day forward, her father walked the path from the porch all the way to the bus stop, and all that Phyllis needed to do was look for her Father’s footprints made with only Phyllis in mind.

Did you know that Ephesians 2:10 says that you are the workmanship, or masterpiece, of God, created in Christ Jesus for fulfilling the purpose of your life, which God has already laid out in footprints for you to walk in – in safety, with surety, and in sanctity.  It all begins with a personal relationship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son.  From that point forward, it is a joy and a privilege for us to go daily to the Father, tell Him about our struggles, and watch for the footsteps He has already laid out for us. 

Have you told your Father about your daily struggles?  Have you looked for His footprint?  Sometimes, regardless of our physical height, we become vertically challenged by the struggles on this earth.  Above all, that is when we, as did Jehoshaphat, must look above our struggles to our Father, claiming His love and provision, as He shows us the next step.

© 2010 Gerry Sisk

(02/28/10)