When It Won't Budge
Jesus told John to go to the boulder and push it with all his might.
There is a story of a man named John. John was a faithful Christian but he had one problem, a vice in his character, that, try as he might, he could not seem to get rid of. He prayed fervently and daily, asking God that this vice may be taken away from him, so that he may be a more faithful follower.
One day, Jesus appeared to John in a vision. He told John of a huge boulder lying in a forest near where John lived. Jesus told John to go to the boulder and push it with all his might. When the vision ended, John did exactly what he was told. He went into the forest, found the boulder just as he had been shown. And John leaned with all his weight against it and pushed with all his might.
But nothing happened. The boulder didn’t even budge. And John was disappointed. It was late, so he decided to go home and try again the next day.
The next day, he went to the boulder again and pushed, and he pushed, and he pushed. But still nothing happened. After many days of pushing the boulder and not moving it, John brought this matter to prayer. “Why, Lord?” he asked. “Why can’t I move the boulder?”
Jesus appeared to John again in another vision and the Lord said, “I never asked you to move the boulder. All I asked of you is that you push it with all your might.”
PRAYER: Make me more faithful, dear Jesus. Help me to see my vices that destroy faith and Godly living. Sins of habit that hurt others and imprison me with fear. When I’m looking for results and you’re helping with process, bring me back to your way, fill me with hope, and give me the strength to keep pushing as long as you determine it is good for me to push. Amen.