Our family’s favorite dog was named Moose. He was a chocolate labrador weighing in at 115 lbs. and he was everything you’d hope for in a dog. He was a gentle giant who loved our kids and who always greeted me heartily when I came home.
On most days, Moose ran freely in the house and the yard, but on one particular day he was tethered to a tree at the end of a long rope. When I arrived home and walked into the backyard, he took off to greet me. You can guess what happened. That rope was long, but it had an end. When Moose reached the end of the rope, he came to a hard stop and let out a loud yelp. Fortunately, he was unharmed, but it was a sad, memorable moment watching Moose come to the end of his rope.
God Meets You at the End of Your Rope
Recently, I woke up in the middle of the night with two thoughts. “God, your yoke is not easy, and your burden is not light.” I know that those words are not true. Jesus says exactly the opposite. But at that moment, in the middle of the night, I was at the end of my rope, and I didn’t like how weak and vulnerable I felt. I wasn’t comfortable being in that position, and I kicked at the goads.
God offers a different perspective for when we find ourselves at this point. In The Message, here is how Eugene Petersen paraphrases the first of the beatitudes: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule” (Matthew 5:3).
Strength Comes at the End of Your Rope
God’s perspective is that at the end of the rope, we are on the brink of blessing. When there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, we are at the threshold of experiencing God’s well-being and favor. The end of the rope is where we find Him, who loves to work on our behalf. The prophet Isaiah reminds us a few times of God’s heart:
“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4, NIV).
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29, ESV).
Your Calling Begins at the End of Your Rope
In many ways, this is the message we carry to the world. When each of us was out of options, when we were dead in our trespasses and sins and without hope, God made us alive with Christ. When we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We want everyone everywhere to know and experience God’s love and hope.
We all face problems that bring us to our knees: relationships, finances, health, kids, ministry difficulties. Yet God reminds us that, if He has already met us in the midst of our greatest existential crisis, then He will be faithful to provide for us in the midst of our most challenging, insecure, compromised and vulnerable times (see Romans 8:32).
The Great Waymaker, who acts on our behalf, is waiting at the end of our rope to remind us that His strength is perfected in our weakness, and that lasting fruit is always the result of abiding in Him. He is for you and me.
Mark Gauthier serves as vice president and U.S. national director for Cru. Gauthier got his start with Cru as chaplain at Harvard University in 1986, just after leading a summer project behind the Iron Curtain in Romania. As a leader of leaders, Gauthier is passionate about encouraging and equipping believers to work together towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
