“Here’s what I’ve been looking for!” My husband propped his walking stick against a forest tree and pulled from the underbrush a straight, stout branch about my height. With his pocketknife he whittled off several small branches and gifted me my own walking stick. “Try this, “ he coaxed. “It really helps.”
I’d been groaning through the incline portions of our hike in the Appalachian foothills. Yes, exercise and walking were part of my routine at home, but we lived in the flatlands of Florida at the time. The upward slopes of this footpath were causing my leg muscles to complain loudly.
What a surprising difference that branch made! Swinging it ahead helped propel me forward. I felt more stable in the uneven and slippery places with the walking stick to provide balance. And leaning into it as I hefted myself up steep inclines did take some of the stress off my aching legs.
That experience brings to mind a familiar truth tucked in Psalm 23:
“Your rod and your staff comfort me.”
Just as that walking stick gave me relief on the trail, the staff of God’s Word has offered much relief on the path of life.
For example:
As a young wife and mother, discouraged by the mindless repetition of housework, I came across this staff of scripture to propel me forward:
The realization dawned that taking care of my family was equivalent to serving him. And though it would be a lie to say from that day forward I happily swept, scrubbed, and sanitized, I did carry with me a new perspective.
When distraught over my faults and deficiencies, God handed me this walking stick of relief:
“I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus…
For it is God who is working in you,
enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.”
–Philippians 1:6; 2:13 HCSB
What a loving, attentive Father he is, day after day working out his plan and blessing upon our lives, slowly but surely transforming us into our best selves.
When distraught over election results, I leaned on the comforting truth of Daniel 2:20-21:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and
power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and
raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.”
What a relief to know he is sovereign over the universe, and everything is under his control.
When I was heartbroken after a young friend died as the result of a car accident, I desperately wanted to know why. Why didn’t God answer the prayers of countless people and bring her out of the coma?
Shelly was a talented pianist with a short-term missionary assignment pending. Why didn’t he save her?
God gave me the stabilizing staff of Romans 11:33-36, to help me walk through my questions and grief:
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
Those last two statements brought sudden clarity. Everything—even painful events—come through God first before they touch us. And somehow it all has potential to bring him honor and praise. The answer to my question why isn’t necessary.
“Each of us may be sure that
if God sends us over rocky paths,
He will provide us with sturdy shoes.
He will never send us on a journey
without equipping us well.”
–Alexander MacLaren
And with those sturdy shoes of equipping, praise God he also provides walking sticks of stability, support, relief, and comfort in his Word–if we keep a watchful eye.
What walking sticks in scripture have offered you stability, support, relief, and comfort? Please share in the comments section below!
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From the Inside Out 