Inspiration

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NO CONTEST

I live two miles out a country dirt road in south Florida. Recently, as I was bumping along the washboard, I saw something move in the road ahead of me. Slowing down, I recognized about a six foot long diamondback rattlesnake. I was alone in the car, and feeling pretty safe from the deadly venom, I proposed to be a hero and get rid of this menace. I drove over the snake, assuming that would be the end of it. In fact, it was not. He just kept on going. I have a 7-year-old precious daughter at home, and I have been concerned before that if she were playing out in the acreage and was bitten by a snake of this size, it certainly could be deadly. I was determined to get rid of this menace, less than one-half mile from my yard. I backed up and drove over him again. He continued to survive, almost unaffected.

This is a quiet street, with only occasional traffic. I sat there in my car wondering what to do next. Pretty soon, a car came towards me and the man driving also noticed the menace. He stopped and got out with a machete. Wonderful, I thought! I am no longer alone in this struggle. Here is a man with a weapon! However, the snake was very large, and the man circled around it a bit, unsure of how to protect himself. As we both stewed over the problem, from my right, emerged a large “earth moving machine.” Pardon me, but I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to machinery, and I have no idea what this thing is called. All I know is that is very big, used to grade roads, and has a sharp box blade underneath it. That was good enough for me. The driver saw the snake as well, and went to work. He aligned his blade above the threat, and dropped it. It was no contest. Not only was the snake cut in half, it was driven about a foot underground, never to bother anyone again.

Like that snake, sometimes evil seems so overwhelming. I had really been struggling with some problems in my own life lately that felt insurmountable. But it is all in how we look at things. God is so much bigger than my little problems. I thought about how much relief I felt when I saw the first man step out with his machete. That is like those who I can look to for support around me. Those who lift me up in prayer and listen to my woes. They are not, in themselves, the solution to the problem, but God does not mean for us to struggle alone. They are the body. On the other hand, the battle belongs to God; and like the man in the earth mover, he is big enough to handle it. More than big enough. What we see as so menacing is nothing to him. Why do we doubt, or take so much time to hand things over to Him? The battle is His, and is already won.

If I were to step my 110 pounds into the ring with Mohammed Ali, we all know who would win, and I assure you, it would be “no contest.” On the other hand, if I desired to end the life of a pesky fire ant, again “no contest.” This time I win. But when I am overwhelmed by life’s problems, I have only to give them over to the One who is bigger than the problem, and like the snake and the earth mover, if I have faith, I can be assured, that it is “no contest.”