Yesterday afternoon, I went out three times to shovel snow. The first time was productive. The second was still satisfying. I looked at what I’d done and could see I had made a difference. But by the third time, the wind had picked up. As fast as I shoveled, snow blew back at me. Not only was I not making progress … much of the progress from the first two times was being erased. And, it was cold! I stood watching my work disappear. Then, I went back inside.
That moment stuck with me. Because that’s how faith can feel sometimes.
There are times in life when spiritual effort feels visible and rewarding. We pray and read the Bible more consistently. We show up for worship, serve others, practice kindness, and resist habits that pull us away from God. The driveway clears. We can see the progress.
Then the wind comes. Circumstances shift. Old wounds reopen. Fatigue hits. Distractions blow us in other directions. We look at our faith and ask: Why does it seem like nothing has changed?
Scripture knows this feeling. “Let us lay aside every weight … and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1; NRSV).
Perseverance implies resistance. A race implies there’s a distance involved. Both take effort on our part, the kind of effort that doesn’t always show immediate results.
What struck me from yesterday’s shoveling lesson was the realization that stopping didn’t mean failure. I made some progress. I did my part. It’s just that sometimes forces, in the moment, are bigger than my strength. And that’s okay. At some point, I’ll return to the driveway with my shovel in hand, or the warmth of the sun will cause the snow to disappear (according to the forecast, just not this week). The winds of yesterday won’t have the last word.
Our faith may, on occasion, reach its limits. But, thankfully, God’s grace has no limits. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9; NRSV).
Grace meets us when we’re tired of pushing back against the wind. Grace covers the ground we’re struggling to keep perfectly clear. Grace reminds us that faith takes effort, but isn’t sustained by our effort alone; God’s power is present in our weakness.
The “practices” of our faith – prayer, devotional time, worship, Communion, service – matter. They shape us. They may not guarantee clear conditions, but they are ways of staying open to God even when the weather turns against us.
I’m thankful for a God who doesn’t measure my faith by how clear the driveway looks at the end of the day. I’m thankful for grace that holds when my effort falters, and for love that remains even when the winds undo what I thought I had accomplished.
Prayer: God, you know how easily I grow tired and discouraged. You see the work I do in faith, and the moments when it feels undone by forces beyond me. When winds blow against me, remind me that I am not held by my own strength, but by your grace. Help me trust that even when progress is hard to see, you are still at work in me and around me. Amen.
