Hope on a Rope

Have you ever had one of those days when it seemed like your kids woke up in the morning saying to themselves, "I wonder if all the rules still apply today? Hmm, better test it out."? Has it ever happened to you at the mall?

We had a rules-testing day at the mall a few years back. I call it a rules-testing day, but I think it could be more accurately described as "Store Wars." I'm talking about a major battle here. While one kid was whining to go to the toy store, I was wrestling to keep my toddler out of the fountain. "I get da moneys." If I had realized how much lunch was going to cost, I might have let her go in after them.

By noon I had chased kids in and out of more stores than I could count. I had also cleaned up a ketchup disaster that would not have been viewable for anyone with a weak constitution (it's amazing how far those little packets can squirt when pounced on by two four-year-old tennies). I won't even tell you about the diaper situation. Okay, I'll tell you this much. When you're holding a baby on your hip, and that baby is wearing a diaper way past full, don't be surprised if one of your shoes squishes for about two hours.

My dad and his four siblings tell stories of how they used to make my experience at the mall look like a stroll in the park. They were all a tad unruly. By "a tad unruly" I mean that their mom was probably pretty happy with every shopping trip that didn't end in any kind of litigation. When the kids had given her all she could handle and she was "at the end of her rope," she would literally tie them all to her with a nice, strong, extra-thick length of twine. It was her way to make sure she made it home with all her kids in tow. They must have looked like a family of mountain-climbers.

Do you feel like you're at the end of your rope? There's hope for you! As a matter of fact, there's a special hope available for us when we're at the end of our rope. Coming to the end of your rope can actually be a good thing. A. W. Tozer said, "The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us." Sometimes coming to the end of our rope is coming to the end of ourselves. It's the place where we strip away pride and get out of the way of what God would like to accomplish in us and through us.

Self-sufficiency is the enemy of the hope Christ wants to build in our lives through relying on Him. Philippians 4:13 says, "I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me, that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency." (Amplified). There's only one kind of sufficiency we need to have: His.

In Matthew 5:3, Jesus said, "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule." (The Message)

Keep holding onto the rope and what do we end up with? Rope. But let go and we learn how thrilling life is under God's rule. And we can get a new thrill every day knowing that all of His rules still apply!

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Rhonda Rhea writes for dozens of Christian publications and speaks at conferences and events across the country. You can find her newest books, Soup for the Soul--Tastes Just Like Chicken, and Amusing Grace, at your local Christian bookstore. Who Put the Cat in the Fridge--Serving Up Hope and Hilarity Family Style will be available in March. Rhonda's husband, Richie Rhea, is a pastor in Troy, Missouri. You can reach them through her Web site.