In 2011 I began running and participated in two 5Ks in the fall. Even though I have been running for over 6 months now, I can still say with a great deal of certainty that I hate to run. But, I do it anyway! One morning I was running up a big hill on our street. At the top of the hill the pavement is smooth, thanks to recent repaving by Virginia Department of Transportation. I could run much easier on the smooth top road, but in order to get there I had to run approximately 1/2 mile on a rough patch of road. That brought a very specific verse to mind:
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths…and make the rough places smooth. I will not forsake them. -Isaiah 42:16
How cool is that! I know that during biblical times most people traveled on dirt and gravel roads with no shoes…ouch! But that is what I love about God’s word. I LOVE how God uses the everyday moments in my life (like running on a rough road) to speak directly to my heart.
I don’t know about you, but I could use some rough places in my life, marriage, health, finances, parenting, relationships, etc made smooth by God’s love, grace, and mercy! And the best part is that God is always there. God does not move. God does not change.
I the Lord, do not change. -Malachi 3:6
God is always the same, always there. Just like the smooth road is always at the top of the hill. I just have to keep going, keep running, remain obedient to get there. Sometimes it is the “getting there” that is the most difficult. But God blesses those who are obedient.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. -Isaiah 40:4
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. -Luke 3:5
This story was an excerpt from my 2011 Christmas Letter. Recently, a friend/neighbor shared how this story encourouraged her when she needed it the most. .
So, I decided to share it with you.
I love how God’s word never goes out of date.
~April
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