He Will Fix It

“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.” (Ho 13:9 AV)

 

The reader can take this verse one of two ways.  He or she can look at the first part and come under conviction.  Perhaps that might be warranted.  But the second half is extremely encouraging.  Despite Israel’s self-destructive behavior, God can help them.  Despite their behavior being an offense to God, God can help them.  Even though they turned their back on God, God can help them.  Their help does not reside within them.  They cannot undo the mess they have caused.  They cannot get themselves from a state of desolation to a state of fruitfulness on their own.  They have destroyed all that God had done for them which would result in a fruitful nation.  Without God, they are hopeless.  That is why the second half of the verse is so encouraging.  Six little words mean the whole world.  I know that God has done this often with me.  We have a way of ruining things God is trying to accomplish.  We have a way of taking what He meant as a blessing and turning it into the opposite.  But, the LORD is our help.

Have you ever had a son or daughter get themselves in a state of complete hopelessness and cry out for intervention?  I am thinking about climbing a tree and not knowing how to get down.  Or getting themselves tangled in a toy and not able to figure a way out.  Toddlers have a way of doing that.  You buy this wonderful toy that was meant to sit at and explore, but they turn it into mini monkey bars.  Soon, they have their arms and legs entangled to the point they cannot figure out how to get themselves out of it.  It reminds me of an app I see advertised where the point is to untangle a mess of ropes on a peg board.  Anyway, your toddler was having fun while sticking his head in one opening, and his arms in another.  And his legs in yet another.  He’s trying to do something no other human being alive has ever accomplished and only he, in his little mind, knows what that is.  He has fun for a while.  He is exploring.  However, he learns his endeavor is impossible and seeks a way to undo what he has done.  Frustration eventually ends in fear.  It is then you hear a shrill from the playroom as if your son had just seen a ghost.  You run in and can’t help but chuckle.  That only makes your son all the more frustrated.  He thinks he is forever trapped.  He will expire entangled in a weave of plastic and wood.  You look it over, solve the riddle, and free your son.  You fix what mess he had gotten into.

I am so glad God never gives up on us.  No matter the tangled mess we make, He is always there to straighten it out.  If we ask Him, that is.  God is so patient with us.  Like a loving father is toward his children, so too is the Father toward us.  One wonders how many times we have made Him chuckle.  More times than not, His reaction was probably a sigh and pity.  As He looks at the hopelessness of our predicament, the LORD may have expressed a bit of anger, but that anger does not last long.  In His infinite wisdom, He begins to show us the path out.  One step at a time.  One leg at a time.  One finger at a time.  It may take a while, but God is our help.  He will not allow us to remain in the situation we have created.  The key is to cry out for help.  Like my son who may be trapped, I am not helping him unless he asks.  If he thinks he can figure it out himself, more power to him.  But if he cries out, I come running.  So, too, does the LORD.  He will not stand idly by as we suffer from our own foolishness.  He is there.  He always is.