Bible Text: Psalm 91:11-13 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Psalm 91:11-13, KJV
Anyone who visits the Middle East will eventually find himself walking on the large weathered and cracked paving stones buried hundreds of years ago by Roman work crews. The old Roman roads, like the fingers of a cobweb, linked the ancient world together. You find them everywhere: Izmir, Pergamos, Ephesus, Alexandria, Syria, Jordan, Jerusalem, and, of course, all over Italy. Going from the House of Caiphas in Jerusalem, there is an old Roman road that led through across the Jordan valley. Jesus and His disciples undoubtedly walked on that very road, now scarred by the centuries of time, and polished smooth by the footsteps of men and women.
When I walk on such a road, I always wonder, “Who walked here? And what was their business?”
Paving stones are tough stuff, usually made of granite because the softer rocks are quickly scarred and cut by the iron wheels of carts and carriages and become worthless. But granite withstands the wear and the abrasion; but no matter how tough, it’s eventually polished by the wear and tear it was designed for.
One of my choice memories was of the times that I got to spend with old Wang Ming Dao, the father of the house church movement in China. Imprisoned for more than 22 years and forced to work in the coal mines of northern China, the hands of old brother Wang were gnarled and toughened, much like the Roman roads which I just described. One of his earlier books, still published today, was entitled, A Stone Made Smooth. His hearing was impaired and his glasses had the thickness of coke bottles but his sense of humor was unaffected. “Brother Wang,” I said, “many years ago I read your book, A Stone Made Smooth.”
With a twinkle in his eyes, then clouded by cataracts, he replied, “Stone still not yet smooth.” He meant that regardless of what he had been through, God continued to work in his life, still polishing the rough spots, impressing the image of His Savior upon his countenance and heart. If ever I met a true saint, I believe that man was one, yet he freely acknowledged that the ongoing work of God’s Spirit continued in his life.
Warren Wiersbe in his book, The Bumps Are What You Climb On, says, “One of the greatest promises found in Psalm 91 has to do with the stones on the path. ‘for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.’ God doesn’t promise to remove the stones from the path,” he says, “but He does promise to make them stepping-stones and not stumbling blocks. He promises to help us climb higher because of the difficulties of life.”
Those tough situations in your life become stepping stones or stumbling blocks. They will either serve to polish you or crush you, and your response to what happens to a large degree determines which it shall be.
Wang Ming Dao would never have become the man he was—a giant among men—had it not been for the privation and suffering he went through. Did he enjoy it? Of course not. But he profited from it.
The promise given by Moses, who had seen more than a few stones himself as he took care of sheep in the desert, is still valid: “He will give His angels charge over you… so you won’t dash your foot against the stone.”
With God’s help you can turn those stumbling blocks—those unasked-for difficulties of life—into stepping stones. He makes all the difference in the world. Wiersbe is right: The bumps are what you climb on.
Resource reading: Psalm 91