Only a Pebble
How God Transforms Our Obstacles
Mark 16:3-4
A Dark Beginning
The journey began in a darkness that covered both the sky and their hearts. A damp mist settled over the women like a gray cloak covering their sagging shoulders and sinking spirits. Soft footsteps crunched along the gravel path as they made their way to Jerusalem’s burial garden in the chilly pre-dawn.
I ponder the heaviness of those going to the tomb in the early hours on that somber Sunday. I notice they busied themselves with the practical, as women often do. Perhaps they found a brief relief through the familiar tasks of need-meeting. They carried spices to tend Jesus’s body, wanting to add their own act of devotion to the hasty burial preparation, rushed by necessity before the Sabbath rest.
I imagine they traveled in numb silence, each pondering their own thoughts and exhausted with questioning. I’m sure they poured over each word Jesus had shared to prepare them for the unimaginable. As they struggled to find footing in the waves of fear and grief, a new anxiety pierced their fragile composure:
“They were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?’” (Mark 16:3)
Too Much To Bear
My heart goes out to them. I can almost hear the defeated sigh in their voices. Witnessing the crucifixion drained them to the bottom in body and soul. Now, they just wanted to reverently bury their Lord—to draw comfort from serving him one last time. As they walked toward the tomb with this simple desire, they groaned to realize the obstacle that rose ahead of them. Far beyond their strength to overcome, an insurmountable boulder blocked their way.
“The pebble that stubs my toe becomes the boulder that knocks me flat.”
I’ve smacked into that overwhelming exhaustion when trying to press onward, when circumstances seem more than I can bear. At those times, I’ve tried to break up the boulders into small pieces of “just one more step” to keep myself going. It’s then that the unexpected problem, disappointment, denial, rejection, or delay tips me over the edge in endurance. Even a minor inconvenience added to my overloaded state knocks me down like a mountain avalanche. I want to collapse and cry, “No more!” The pebble that stubs my toe becomes the boulder that knocks me flat.
God’s Power Provides
As the women approached the tomb sealed by a stone, I imagine their eyes focused downward on each step they took—feeling defeated before they began. Yet, on this day of the greatest of miracles, they received a preview of the new power released into their lives:
“Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away.” (Mark 16:4).
When they reached the place in the path they expected would conquer them, the hurdle was already removed. They only had to look up and bear witness. What they could not do, God’s power had already done. His compassion preceded them and prepared the way—meeting the need of the moment, and so much more.
God Sees and Cares
Throughout Scripture God reveals his tender heart for the burdened, vulnerable, and grieving. He sees and responds to those who feel too weak for their circumstances. He calls out to Hagar, banished and weeping in the desert. He sends Elijah to the widow with her last drop of oil and scrap of flour. He hears Hannah’s soul-wrenching prayers at the altar pleading for a son.
In all those times, God met the needs they felt would conquer them. And in the shadow of their boulders, he worked to give them so much more. Desperate Hagar lived to beget a nation. The hopeless widow fed the prophet that brought Israel back to God. Forgotten Hannah bore the son who anointed the kings of Israel. In compassion and grace God saw their secret tears and exhausted spirits. He cleared the stones from their path as he prepared a surpassing work through their weakness.
On resurrection morning, God tenderly watched those brokenhearted women on the way to a tomb. They began their journey in a darkness of dashed hopes, seeing only the worldly circumstances that crushed them. But an angel with an earthquake had already rolled that obstacle out of the way—not so they could enter a tomb and honor the dead, but to release the power of the resurrection. Their stone became a pebble in the hands of God, eclipsed by the Light of Life that burst free and changed the world.
What boulder in your life can you trust God to clear from your path as he prepares your blessing?
If you enjoy the blog, join our email list to receive posts directly to your inbox!