At the End of Your Rope
…I will fear no evil; for You are with me…
Psalm 23:4
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” It’s attributed to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who used it to encourage Americans who were grappling with the hopelessness that pervaded the Great Depression.
When someone says they are “at the end of their rope,” they usually mean that they’ve come to the end of themselves – that they are out of strength, out of options, and maybe even out of hope.
While I understand that FDR was challenging people to not give in, give out, or give up, there’s an aspect of his words that I find troubling. That is the subtle implication that your survival is all up to you. You are the one who needs to tie the knot, and you are the one who needs to hang on.
In contrast to that, Christian philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard offers this alternative: “God’s address is at the end of our rope.” That is to say, when you come to the end of your rope, you’ll find God residing there.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer Willard’s quote to the other one. I find more comfort in knowing when my strength runs out (and it will) God is there to catch me. Hold me. And heal whatever rope burns I suffered on my way down.
God’s Address
What’s interesting is that while Dallas Willard is known for being an expert on intimacy with God and practicing the spiritual disciplines that create that, he was no stranger to suffering.
Indeed, there’s an autobiographical element to his quote about God being at the end of your rope. Willard’s mother died when he was quite young, and he struggled with the pain of that loss and its accompanying insecurity all the rest of his life.
To remind himself that he wasn’t truly alone, he prayed through these words every morning.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Psalm 23
I don’t know where this finds you today. Perhaps things are going great and you’re on top of the world. Or maybe, just maybe, you are faced with all sorts of problems and pressures and feeling at the end of your rope.
In either case, let me make this suggestion. Try following Dallas Willard’s lead and read the reassuring words of Psalm 23 out loud every morning of this week.
Read them thoughtfully. Read them prayerfully. Let them wash over you as you linger in the Lord’s presence and realize the peace and confidence of knowing… you are not alone.
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