Short arms

 I took a rowing boat out on the lake at Blenheim Palace last week. The oars were locked in place so they didn't float away when some inept oarsman let go of them. This is a great idea providing the person rowing the boat has arms long enough to reach the oars. My rowing action is not very professional at the best of times but when I had to hold my arms out straight to the sides and then pull a pair of heavy wooden poles through windswept water I was struggling a bit. To add to the problem, my short legs couldn't reach the end of the boat and there was no adjustable footboard to brace my legs against. We did eventually make some progress through the water but short arms and legs proved less than ideal for the task.

There's a verse in Isaiah 58 that reads, "The Lord's arm is not too short to save and his ear is not too deaf to hear."  Sitting in that rowing boat I had a new appreciation of the need for suitable length arms. If you're struggling a bit with some rough patches, you can be sure that God's arm is long enough to reach you and strong enough lift you. He will hear when you call. In the words of Psalm 40,, "He lifted me out of the pit of death, out of the mud and the filth. He set my feet on a solid rock and steadied my legs."