A Stretcher
I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever. Psalm 121
In my mid-twenties, I had decided to get back into riding a bike. Not a motorcycle, but a road bike. 21-speed. It was fast. In that, I made the unfortunate mistake of thinking I was still in my adolescence. Back then, my friends and I rode our bikes from dawn until dusk. We fell off, and we got back up. We didn’t need any extras … like a helmet! We looked cool on our bikes, and we rode through the galaxy known as W. Boston Blvd. ruling it with absolute authority. But on this day, I was a young man trying to reclaim past glory. I did not realize how much stronger and faster I was. So, as I continue to gain momentum, I am hitting top speed. Suddenly, I lost my rhythm peddling. No big deal yet. But being focused on my pedaling, I lost control of the handlebars, and one faulty push later and the handlebars turned sideways. Over the bike I flew, and on the ground I went. Again, I believed I was still a ten-year-old and could simply brush it off while getting up. However, this time as I tried to get up, I feel back down. Not once. Not twice. But three times. I simply sat for ten minutes to let the cobwebs clear. Finally, I was able to stand, and drag the bent frame of the bike and myself back to the house. I went to the hospital to have my injuries looked at, and thankfully, only had a few scrapes. God spared me great harm that day, and that was the last time I rode my bike without a helmet.
I bring this up because of a sermon I heard this past week talking about our dependency on Christ. In the analogy, Pastor Rich Wilkerson, Jr. was asked by a friend that was struggling with his faith why he uses Jesus like a crutch. The preacher laughed sharing with the congregation that it was a half-truth. He said, “Jesus is not a crutch for me … He’s a stretcher!” You see, there are times in our faith where we are struggling with something minor like a temporary situation, and we look to Jesus to help us hobble through it like a crutch or my being a kid where we can simply dust ourselves off. But then, there are times where we are like my trying to get up from the fall and we keep falling down. We keep failing like with habitual sin, and we can’t walk even with a crutch. We need a stretcher.
We must rely on God for all things. We all have strengths that are God given, and God expects us to use them for the building of His Kingdom. However, He also gave us weaknesses. Paul explained why perfectly 2 Corinthians 12:10 when he said, “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul spoke of his weakness not because he himself was weak. He displayed where Christ shows to all His strength through him. Today’s verses are a reminder of where our true strength comes from: God. When we are strong, God made us that way to withstand certain things. But when we are weak, He is our help to get us through whatever struggles we are experiencing. David’s Psalm is a reminder of the God we serve and how wonderful He is. He is not just when we need a little help. He is all the time whether we are standing tall or knocked out and looking up to the heavens to figure out where we are. He will not let you stumble. He watches over you and will keep you safe from harm.
God is God no matter what our need is. I must share one other bit from this sermon. Pastor Rich mentioned that the enemy does not defeat us because we are weak. He defeats us because we think we (alone) are strong. Paul again reminds us, “The Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power.” (2 Corinthians 13:3b-4) Let us never forget where our true help comes from. When is the last time you have prayed to God from a position of great strength? How can we let go our weakness for God’s strength to show through us? My prayer is that we truly rely on God like a stretcher. Amen.