A simple phrase that holds so much emotion. "There's nothing you can do." It means you are powerless. It means that there are no options for you. No alternatives. No way to do anything. There is nothing you can do.
The moments when this phrase is true are truly terrifying moments. They are the moments when life changes for someone. When something happens that is beyond the control of any one person and definitely not in your control. There is nothing you can do.
That phrase contains so much fear. So much helplessness. You are helpless to stop something that you desperately do not want to happen. There was one time that I was rollerblading down a pretty steep hill. There was a school bus letting kids off at the bottom of the hill. I couldn't stop in time, and there was no way I could avoid it. I either had to hit the bus or hit the pavement. Obviously I didn't want to do either. I tried to break. At my speed, I off balanced and began to fall. In that moment, there was nothing I could do. I knew that, and it terrified me. So of course I hit the ground. Hard. I even rolled for a distance, as I was on a hill. I scraped up my whole left leg pretty good. Road rash is an awful thing to have. I couldn't even sleep in my own bed for a few days because I couldn't put pressure on any side of my leg. And over and over I thought of that moment. That instant where I realized I was going down, and there was nothing I could do about it. I knew that I was going to get hurt, and I knew it was going to be bad. And there was nothing I could do.
That was a pretty small example. One that didn't really change my life drastically, besides gaining some pretty impressive scars on my leg. But that feeling of falling is a good example of what represents that moment of realization. That lack of control. That feeling of falling. Knowing without a doubt that here's nothing you can do.
There are other examples. Ones that involve doctors, finances, cars, time. Sickness takes a loved one, or an injury takes a terrible toll on them. You get a call saying your mortgage fell through; you're going to loose your house. You're driving and another car comes out of nowhere and hits you hard. You don't have enough time to get money to pay bills, or time enough to make an apology. And there's nothing you can do.
But there is something you can do. But it's not exactly what you can do, but rather where you can go. When everything seems out of your control, you can go to the one who is in control of everything. There is nothing God cannot do. He can help you where ever you are.
There is a song by Ryan Stevenson called "Eye of the Storm." It is one of my absolute favorites. The lyrics are beautiful and speak to what really happens in life. In the eye of the storm there's nothing we can do, and our only hope is to trust in God.
I have had a few moments in my life where I wish that I could just do something. Just change one little thing and everything will be alright. If only I could just do something. But I was told there was nothing I could do. As much as I wanted to be able to do just one thing, at least one little thing to make everything better. But I just couldn't. It wasn't possible. There was nothing I could do.
I learned though, that I could trust in God. Because, while I can do absolutely nothing, He can do anything. So to trust in Him is the only thing I can do. And while I may not understand why some things are happening, I know that He is in control. And that is something that I always have to remember and what "Eye of the Storm" reminded me of the first time I listened to it.
"In the eye of the storm,
You remain in control,
In the middle of the war,
You guard my soul,
You alone are the anchor,
When my sails are torn,
Your love surrounds me,
In the eye of the storm."
He remains in control, when all seems lost in confusion. He keeps us safe when everything is falling apart. He grounds us when we think that there is nothing left to hang onto. His love is with us always, even when it seems we are alone.
And this is only the chorus. The rest of the song is just as beautiful and full of meaning. It even has that phrase in it:
"When a sickness takes my child away,
And there's nothing I can do,
My only hope is to trust in you."
That is only ever our only hope. All our hope is anchored in God. So when there is nothing we can do, we trust God to work all things to our good.
