| “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” |
| —Jeremiah 32:17 |
Have you ever started a task and, after a great deal of effort, finally had to admit that the task has become just too hard for you to accomplish? I confess that in my younger days that rarely happened. I have a rather stubborn streak. No matter how difficult something became, I could usually push my way through until I either accomplished the task, or irreparably broke some part or object involved in the task.
That is definitely no longer the case. I am an old man now. Actually, I have been an “old man” physically since I suffered a decline in my health in 1998. There are many, many tasks, which I used to accomplish with ease, that I simply can no longer do.
A bit more than eight years ago, my wife and I found ourselves in the process of getting ready to move from our house in Harborcreek Township, Pennsylvania, to a much smaller Garden Home at a highly respected Senior Living Community on the other side of the county. Frankly, we made the correct decision at just the right time in our lives.
Certainly the people who run this facility seem extraordinarily kind, gracious, and helpful. Even after the intervening years, I write about this move with somewhat of a heavy heart because I had to discard nearly 90 percent of my cherished personal possessions. They simply wouldn’t fit in the new place. In reality, they represented only “things” and did not have genuine lasting importance. Nevertheless, I lament having to get rid of them.
For example, on one particular weekend—with the help of one of my brothers-in-law and nephew, along with two friends from my church—we carted over 1,000 pounds of electronic gear to a special recycling facility. This included 17 computers. Yes, that’s right—17 computers. I also had two ancient televisions, numerous radios, some cassette duplicating equipment, all kinds of test equipment, and other electronic gadgets and gizmos accumulated over a lifetime. I even had an 8-track tape cartridge deck. Remember them? They were all the rage in the late 1960s and early 1970s. My point is that without the help of others, I am no longer able to do many things. Fortunately, God has provided people who are so very gracious, kind, and willing to help me.
Sometimes, even in our spiritual lives, we may get to the place where we say, “I just can’t do this.” Fortunately, we don’t have to do it by ourselves. God has given us the all-powerful Holy Spirit to help us. As the Prophet Jeremiah declared in Jeremiah 32:17:
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
As we begin another day, let’s remember that nothing is too hard for God. He is able to do more than we dare even ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). That should encourage each of us.
Based on a blog originally posted on Thursday, October 25, 2018
