As George Bailey pleads for the Lord’s help, on a snow-covered bridge in Bedford Falls, he little suspects what is actually going on behind the scenes. The machinations of Henry F. Potter, which have brought George to his knees, in fact, have been the very means the Lord has chosen to show him that he really has a precious, needed, and irreplaceable life.
This truth, vividly portrayed in Frank Capra’s classic film It’s a Wonderful Life, is no less apparent on the real-life stage of the divine drama. Throughout Salvation History, in fact, the Lord chooses to allow the thugs to get the upper hand, only to prove His sovereignty over them. When He allows our strength to appear overwhelmed by likes of a Goliath, He is actually saying, “Now, watch Me work!”
The Lord says to us in such moments, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10) He does not say: “Be still, and know that I am trying my best,” or “Be still, and know that I used to do incredible things, but it’s been a while.” No. He says: “Know that I am GOD.”