We Shovel Because …
Tuesday’s Verse:
From Luke 16:10 ESV
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
For many, the days following a snow and ice storm is quiet… but heavy. Around the country, power lines are still down. Roads are clearer, but still treacherous. Our muscles protest shoveling. Everyone’s patience wears thin. These storms are a reminder of how quickly life’s comforts can vanish.
Scripture never romanticizes creation. Snowstorms, wind, darkness… all tell us we’re not in charge. They also remind us how vulnerable our bodies are. The Law whispers here: we are dust. We cannot save ourselves by might or main.
God meets us in our weakness.
The same Lord who covers the earth with snow like wool also wraps His Son in swaddling cloths and sends Him into a world far colder than any weather can produce. Christ walks into blackouts of another kind: sin, fear, death. He doesn’t survey the scene from afar. He takes up our burden upon Himself. On the cross, He experiences fatigue far greater than sore muscles and darkness far deeper than any winter night.
The story of Jesus is light as a feather, yet strong as concrete: Christ is resting on your behalf. When the power is out. When the roads are impassable. When your body hurts from head to toe. None of these things cancel His promises.
So we dig out our cars, shovel sidewalks, clear roads for plows, check on neighbors, wait for power crews to come through, and rest when we can. We do not shovel snow to prove ourselves to God. We shovel because we already belong to Him.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord God, You command the wind and the snow, and You know our weakness. Give rest to those who are weary. Safety to those still on the roads. Patience to those worn thin by these storms. When storms remind us how little control we have over life, remind us even more that we are covered by Your mercy in Christ. Keep us in Your care, always. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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