Nuisance Stones

Have you ever stubbed your toe on a chair or maybe on a curb or a rock? Ugh! Life is full of challenges and things that will cause us headaches and heartaches. What do you do, and how do you handle these challenges?

Throughout history, man has been involved with warfare.  The Bible has many accounts of war.  One tactic of invading armies was for the offensive army to do everything they could to cause suffering and create the biggest nuisance they could to those whose lands the army were invading.

One way they were a nuisance was by going through the land and throwing rocks into the fields.  Big rocks, little rocks, anything that would create a nuisance.   In 2 Kings 3:19 the Moabites were rebelling against the children of Israel and Elisha gave this word to the King of Israel on their victory over the Moabites:

 “and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”  2 Kings 3:19

When they went in and conquered the land, the children of Israel were to “ruin every good piece of land with stones.” What this says is that the children of Israel were to take stones that were along the path and throw them out in the fields.

If you understand farming, this was a pain in the neck because if there was a crop, it would ruin the growth and the crop that was crushed would never mature or grow. If there was no crop in the field, the farmer would have to go through the field and pick out and throw each rock.  If it was heavy, they would have to carry it over to the side of the field. This all took time and could have been extremely bad if the crop was to provide your livelihood for the year ahead.

These rocks in the field are a metaphor of life and the challenges we face on a daily basis. We all have rocks that become a nuisance and trip us up. Is there a way to handle these challenges that come our way?

I have often tried to do things on my own, and maybe that has been your experience as well. I plow through things and even work really hard to keep my chin up. Things eventually get better. God has given us all great minds, and unfortunately we don’t always use it as best we should.

I have highlighted many verses in Psalm 91 over the years.  These verses are a great comfort and help to give us guidance when we are in times of trials and tribulations.

First we need to stop and acknowledge Him!  Psalm 91:15 says,

                          When he calls to me , I will answer him;                                                                         I will be with him in trouble;                                                    I will rescue him and honor him.

Second we need to trust God to carry us through trials and tribulations. Psalm 91:12 says

                                        On their hands they will bear you up,                                           lest you strike your foot against a stone.

We see here that God will bear you up and may not stop you from physically striking your foot against the stone, but He will be there to guide and direct you through those tribulations and times of headaches and heartaches. When life throws you stones, let the stones of life speak!