"...he wouldn't put another penny into that worthless hole" by Chip Handrich
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul said:
By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide-open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
--Romans 5:1-5 “The Message”
I am not a fan of “proof texting” (finding a verse to prove my point), but as I read this passage, it seemed to speak to me of the troubles that many have faced during the pandemic and the patience needed to see this time through to the end. I am sure that the troubles of which Paul spoke were much worse than the troubles we have endured since March 2020. On the other hand, to those who have experienced difficulties during this period, it has seemed very much like the troubles to which Paul refers.
Paul spoke of something else, though - patience. It seems like we are so close to experiencing life as it was before March 2020, and yet we are so tired of the limitations, the masks, the restrictions regarding gathering for indoor worship, and many other troubles.
A story came to mind a few weeks ago from a book by Carl Akers, entitled “Carl Aker’s Colorado” that we obtained in the middle eighties. This great book can still be found. It is an easy read, full of humor, but you learn much history along the way about the Colorado gold and silver rush in the middle nineteenth century. Akers writes:
Nobody paid much attention when Jim Baxter paid 15-thousand-dollars for a claim up near the top of Fryer Hill. It was just another claim that had sort of been ignored. For months, he worked sinking a shaft…but was down more than a hundred feet and had found nothing. Jim quickly accepted when some tenderfoot offered him 30-thousand dollars for the hole. Baxter sealed the deal, called down the shaft for his men to come up; they yelled back they were ready to set off one last shot, but he ordered them to leave it; said he wouldn’t put another penny into that worthless hole. And the men left the charge and came on up…and helped celebrate the deal.
It was the next morning when the new owners set off the charge…and laid open a vein of almost pure silver.
Just think, that former owner was one blast away from becoming a multimillionaire…one charge…but he gave up.
I know that many of us feel that enough is enough. We have been through a year of total disruption of our lives, not the least of which has been not being able to worship together, or sing together, or enjoy the fellowship together that only worshipping together can bring. We are deep into this “shaft” and we want out.
But remember this admonishment from Paul, “We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us…”
Patience…something that many of us find difficult. Someone said, “Many years ago when you missed the stagecoach, it was no big deal. Another one will come around in a month or so. Today we get all in a tizzy if we miss one section of a revolving door.” It can be so hard to persevere, but remember, we are almost there. The finish line is in view. We are almost to the place of hugging our families again, of seeing each other again, of worshipping together again. If we can hold on just a little longer, we will strike something far more precious than a vein of pure silver. The reward will be so great that we won’t be able to “round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”