When the rubber hits the road
Gary Clayton reminds us how God remains a very present help to His followers throughout the ups, downs and struggles of life
It wasn’t the best way to end a prayer meeting, with the Head of HR telling us: “As you know, the organisation has been struggling with inflation and the exchange rate, and can no longer afford to retain all its staff.
“So, we’re looking to make savings – some of which will require us to let staff go or offer them alternative employment. If you’re one of these, we’ll let you know. Now go back to your desks. You’ll know if you’ve been selected for possible redundancy if your line manager comes in to see you with someone from HR.”
It reminded me of the destroyer mentioned in Exodus 12:23 – passing harmlessly over one house and entering another – or The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, whose main protagonist ‘stoppeth one of three’. Someone from every department received the fateful call.
Unfortunately, I was one of them – a similar thing having happened to my wife about four weeks earlier!
Life, health, jobs, finances and relationships are precarious. The moment we’re born, we begin our inexorable descent to the grave and – for those of us who follow Christ – our inevitable ascent to heaven.
As soon as we’ve grown up, we begin to grow old. Having reached adulthood and fallen in love, we later fall apart.
Time passes whether we like it or not, with no way of rewinding the clock. It’s a shock how swiftly people progress from the hospital bed in which they’re born to the hospital bed in which they die!
In the meantime, as followers of Jesus, we seek to follow in His footsteps while we’re here on earth. Our mixed motives, fitful faith, and leaden prayers will finally find fulfilment in heaven – the one place where we’re finally cured of our spiritual ADHD.
Non-Christians sometimes refer to religion as a crutch, which is odd when you realise that a crutch is exactly what you need when you break your leg or damage your foot. Besides, we all need support when life becomes difficult or painful.
Rather than using the image of a crutch, however, the Bible refers to God as our rock, salvation and fortress (Psalm 62:1-2). It also describes Him as a refuge, strength and ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1-2).
God is our rock and our redeemer (Psalm 19:14), our deliverer and shield (Psalm 144:2).
He’s our strength and our song (Exodus 15:2), a Father to the fatherless and a defender of widows (Psalm 68:5).
He is also a stronghold (Psalm 9:9-10), a strong tower (Proverbs 18:10), a hiding place (Psalm 32:7-8), and shepherd (Psalm 23:1). He is our light and our salvation (Psalm 27:1-3).
Whenever things go wrong and we suffer heartache, adversity or loss, the Lord is the One we can turn to, enabling us to experience His goodness, mercy and love.
Without God, life is pointless, hopeless, meaningless and painful. We start out in a pram and end up in a wheelchair. We may have learnt to stand on our own two feet, but we end up needing to be carried.
So let’s pray that, when the rubber hits the road and troubling times afflict us, we end up moving forwards in faith rather than sliding backwards or languishing on the hard shoulder.
Only God knows the right route for us to take and how long our bumpy journey will last, so it’s important that the difficulties we encounter don’t harden our hearts but incline them to the Saviour.
Although God doesn’t get rid of our difficult circumstances – that would be too easy for Him, and for us – like the parting of the Red Sea, He makes a way through for us.
I find Isaiah 43:2 extremely encouraging. It says, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.’
When difficulties come, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells us the God of all comfort ‘comforts us in all our troubles, so we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.’
There is encouragement, too, in the fact that ‘our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us’ (Romans 8:18), and that ‘our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all’ (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Indeed, as we are reminded in Psalm 30:5, ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning’!
Gary Clayton works for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). To learn more about MAF’s work visit www.maf-uk.org
