Jeremiah 12:5 “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” [NIV]
“Lord, I wouldn’t give someone I didn’t trust my checkbook…but you did.”
My friend was dealing with reoccurring trust issues when he realized Jesus had already paved the way. Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would betray him (John 2:24-25). Yet his trust in God superseded anything man could do to him. Just as Jesus entrusted every situation to his Father, the Lord was calling my friend to do the same. Although he wasn’t specifically being asked to turn over his checkbook to a potential betrayer, the Lord wanted him to completely let go of the situation before him. And to let the Holy Spirit tear up some old asphalt in his life so he could move to a deeper level.
It made me think of the process known as “asphalt reclaiming.” Asphalt reclamation removes “pavement distress” by digging deep, utilizing the road’s underlying materials to create a sturdier foundation, one less prone to cracking and potholes. After being pulverized, the whole pavement is treated with additives to form a base that can extend the life of the road by as much as 20 years.
Kind of like the Holy Spirit’s work in my friend.
How about you? Has the Holy Spirit ever pulverized the hard, worn places in your life? Treated them with additives of new mercy and grace? Have you felt him digging deep under the surface to reach the underlying causes of your “pavement distress?”
God always challenges his people to go deeper, stand taller. When Jeremiah questioned God about his circumstances, some of his own potholes of doubt and fear surfaced. God was allowing him to face his weaknesses now, before life got harder. The present difficulties would prepare Jeremiah for something far greater—-to run with the horses, to glide through impassable terrain.
God wants the same for each of us.
Every challenge we meet offers us new opportunities to let the Holy Spirit reclaim the potholes and fractures in our foundation. He wants to replace our weak and broken pavement with something that lasts longer than 20 years. Something that paves the road to eternity.