Ruts as Footholds

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20 ESV)

Last winter in Minnesota spoiled me. If I remember correctly, we didn't get a snowstorm of more than, like, four inches. This past weekend was the first of likely many snowstorms that will descend upon this Minnesotan metropolis.

Snow is pretty. There's no way that I can deny the beauty of this frozen, sparkling white garment when it covers everything exposed to the elements. There is a supernatural stunning-ness that overwhelms a helpless man, woman, or child when eyes are opened to absorb a scene that is literally impossible for any human or technological device to accomplish (insert condescending comment about fake snow here). These storms are powerful witnesses of the God who can cover the universe in ice by thinking a thought.

I lay the last two paragraphs as foundation; snow and ice storms are displays of majesty. They are not the death knells which we car-driving humanity are so often tempted to see them as. But, as with anything majestic, there is a righteous fear of that which has the ability to annihilate. Tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes are examples of such magnificent displays of the power of God. Though it is beautiful to watch them do their thing, we know that if something went wrong, we'd be dead.

Though wonderful, driving through this colorless magnificence can prove to be an exercise in self-inflicted anxiety and heart-wrenching terror--especially in the middle of the road at night.

During one of these last few snowy evenings, I was walking (slipping) home and saw an SUV that had gotten itself stuck. I wasn't able to see how it happened, but I assume that it was stopped at the stop sign and accelerated too fast to gain any traction on the road which was covered in a few inches of wet, compacted snow. The faster he gunned the engine, the faster his rear-left tire spun; and consequently, the more friction he applied to the ground directly underneath his tire. The heat from the friction was melting away a tire-sized spot on the ground which made the SUV's small movements even smaller and less effective.

By the time I reached the driver-side window, he had stopped trying to move the car and his friend was getting out on the other side to try to push. I got behind the car and attempted to help with the driver's friend. One of the problems was that I had my dress shoes on. I had less than no traction. I was more of a liability than an asset. Thankfully, the SUV was able to rock enough to partially slide out of the rut that it had created. Because the rut was a solid two to three inches deep, I took used it to my advantage. I dug my heel into the rut, and applied that leverage to drive the force of my push into the small foothold that I had found. For about four seconds, I was able to push with most of my energy as the SUV struggled and skidded before the tire finally caught something onto which it could grab, and was then freed from its limbo-bound state of going-nowhereness.

I walked away from the situation thinking one thing: "If that guy hadn't spent a few minutes spinning out, thereby creating a deeper hole for himself, I wouldn't have had the foothold to anchor my push to get him out."

It clicked. The Lord creates calamities (Is. 45:7). The Lord wills that His children suffer (1 Peter 4:19). The Spirit leads us into the desert to be tempted (Luke 4:1). Our God digs ruts for us to fall into, and furthermore, He uses those same ruts to bring us to places and see things that we could have never seen otherwise. He uses the ruts that endlessly frustrate us in order to show us how much greater He is. He shows us how much more there is to know of true reality. If that SUV hadn't created that rut for itself, I wouldn't have been able to push it off the ice. If the Lord didn't lead us through the ditches and gutters of life, we would be tempted to think and act on thoughts that do not represent the way that the world actually is.

No rut is the same. They all look different, and each teaches us different things about His mountain-crushing power and his life-redeeming mercy. I'm thankful that He grows in each of His children appreciation for and patience through the ruts. 

As with all things, some ruts run deeper than others--and nobody ever knows when our car will fall into (or create) one of them. However, what I can posit for certain is the truth stated in Genesis 50:20. It's not the case that the Lord takes a derailed train and rights its course before it totally flies off the tracks. In actuality, He sends the train into a skid to save it from destruction. He doesn't take a rut that happened accidentally and then miraculously make it useful. He wanted the rut to happen because the rut was the means of His plan to make everything turn out for good. For better. For best. 

I know that these are scary words. But it's been proven true in my life. I know things will get worse and life will continue with increasingly deep ditches, but I know that He's been faithful to manifest the surest footholds in my life in the form of the most jarring ruts.

I really don't get this God of mine. I don't understand why He does the things He does. I wouldn't have chosen my experience on earth to work like this. Then again, if I were God, I wouldn't be able to cause my children to bawl tears of thankfulness like He has done with me. 

Those tears have flowed most freely and thankfully in the lowest points of those ruts.

I get scared sometimes thinking about His literally un-understandable overwhelmingness. He's kinda like a snowstorm. 

Huh.

.DSN.