I was reading Zechariah 12 the other day and I came across a phrase that caught my eye. The prophet is encouraging the people by describing God's future activity. He says that "the feeblest among them will be like David" (12:8).
That's quite a contrast - and that would be quite a change. God is saying that the weakest people will be strong like King David.
What I was drawn to think about . . . is how feeble we are.
That's quite a contrast - and that would be quite a change. God is saying that the weakest people will be strong like King David.
What I was drawn to think about . . . is how feeble we are.
I know - that's not a great thing to think about. But watching from a distance as Molly tried to get home for Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but notice how helpless we are. It was as if every force in the universe lined up to make her trip home difficult. All week long, a winter storm named Boreas lurched toward the East Coast. Then Molly ran into all kinds of difficulties simply getting to the train station. And that was only the first step in a long, complicated journey. The details that we had worked on for weeks fell apart piece by piece. When Molly finally arrived in Detroit, she was told that her luggage was waiting for her in Chicago. Molly's arrival in Michigan wasn't even enough; there was still that long drive north. From her dorm room in New York to her front door here took almost exactly twenty four hours.
Of course, we were grateful when she finally walked through the door. But I couldn't help but think about how hard things can be even in this world where many of us have almost everything we could ever hope for.
In Scripture we read about incredible storms. People saw the power of God in those storms. Perhaps it is simply poetic language, but they saw God in the lightning and the wind and the snow. As modern people, we tend to think of ourselves as invincible, in control, able to handle almost anything. Yet even the weather can completely disrupt our lives. Evidently, being feeble isn't limited to ancient peoples. We're feeble too. It seems that being feeble is simply part of the human condition.
But that's okay. We are called into life by this God who is not feeble at all. And he assures us that one day we won't be feeble either. In fact, we will be as strong as King David. But in the meantime - even while we wait for that to happen - we can lean on the strength and power and competence of this God who has everything well in hand.
Even the wind and the sea obey his commands.
Many of us sang the words as children - and the words are still true: we are weak, but he is strong.
Of course, we were grateful when she finally walked through the door. But I couldn't help but think about how hard things can be even in this world where many of us have almost everything we could ever hope for.
In Scripture we read about incredible storms. People saw the power of God in those storms. Perhaps it is simply poetic language, but they saw God in the lightning and the wind and the snow. As modern people, we tend to think of ourselves as invincible, in control, able to handle almost anything. Yet even the weather can completely disrupt our lives. Evidently, being feeble isn't limited to ancient peoples. We're feeble too. It seems that being feeble is simply part of the human condition.
But that's okay. We are called into life by this God who is not feeble at all. And he assures us that one day we won't be feeble either. In fact, we will be as strong as King David. But in the meantime - even while we wait for that to happen - we can lean on the strength and power and competence of this God who has everything well in hand.
Even the wind and the sea obey his commands.
Many of us sang the words as children - and the words are still true: we are weak, but he is strong.