Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Isiah 35:3-4
Have you heard the phrase, “God willing and the creek don’t rise?”
In a recent Bible Study, my precious leader discussed the background of this particular saying. I thought these words just meant you can travel anywhere as long as the creek doesn’t rise and flood the road.
However, it’s possible this saying began a little differently. In the late 1800s, the President wrote a letter to Benjamin Hawkins, asking him to return to Washington. In his response, ‘God willing and the Creek don’t rise,’ Mr. Hawkins meant he would return to Washington quickly as long as the Creek Indians did not rise to stop him.
Regardless of its origin, the phrase means the same across the board.
‘I’ll be there if that’s what the good Lord wants.’
Isaiah 35 provides words of encouragement to the Judahites as they mourned the loss of their land and temple. They were physically beaten and broken; they needed inspiration, reassurance, and spiritual comfort to spur them on. They are told to ‘strengthen the weak hands,’ followed by additional instruction to stand tall and know God will come to their rescue.
We experience many broken moments in our lifetime. Sometimes we feel we will never recover. We instantly lose friends, family, and jobs, in addition to other commodities we deem essential.
As Christians, we remain hopeful in these dark moments. God will ALWAYS come to rescue us. It may not be in the form or fashion we request, but His presence in our times of turmoil is inevitable.
Nothing can stand in the way of our journey with God.
