Unless ~ Charity Hawks

The definition of “unless” in the Strong’s Concordance is “if not for.”  The essence of its meaning is that if certain conditions are not met, then the desired end will not be accomplished.  The situation depends completely upon a particular thing, condition, or person. 

     Things come into all our lives that bring us to the very end of ourselves, and we are made to realize that we are insufficient, helpless, and hopeless. We all have had experience with some sort of devastating news that came and knocked us completely off our feet, physically and spiritually.  The time of great testing eventually comes to us all.  Trials are tools in the hands of a loving Father who is teaching us that He is our sufficiency, our hope, and our help.  We will never see Him as those great things until we find ourselves in the hard things. It’s here where we discover the utterly deficient beings that we are.  We are weak, we are frail, and we are powerless creatures, who only pretend to be self-sufficient.  It’s in our nature to be prideful that way and think we have it all together.  How many days have we crawled out of bed without acknowledging the Father before we start our daily tasks? Why would we?  We’re okay without Him… until we’re not.   

     There’s nothing like lifting a 60-pound bag of cement, as I recently did, to remind us how weak our bodies are.  My stubborn refusal to ask for help led me to a few days of a sore back that I would not have had to endure had I asked for help.  This reminded me that there’s nothing like carrying a burden that’s too heavy for us to be reminded of our spiritual weakness.  We get crushed like the olives in the press to the point that we cry out, “God, I cannot take this!  I cannot fix this!  I cannot survive this!  I must have you!” 

     I once heard a preacher say, “Except God do a thing, it shall not be done.” How true it is!  Ps. 127:1 says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it:  except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” No matter the situation, our efforts are just exercises in vanity.  We are like the mouse on the wheel: we’re running, but we’re not getting anywhere.  What our spirits need to do is rest in Him, but we don’t truly know how to rest in His ability and willingness to provide what we need until He teaches us.  “Casting all your care upon him for he careth FOR you.” (1 Peter 5:7) He doesn’t just care for us in a loving way, but He will do the caring FOR us while we rest in His arms. God is teaching me. 

        In April of 2025, my father-in-law was diagnosed with colon cancer.  After two months of suffering, he left us for heaven. Three weeks later, with the grief over his loss still fresh, my own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The fear that I would lose her, too, was devastating. I was heartbroken, to say the least, but God wasn’t finished with adding to our afflictions, as two days after receiving that news, my 3-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with leukemia. It was sorrow upon sorrow upon sorrow.  I couldn’t breathe.  I felt like I was drowning, and every time I came up for air, another wave just knocked me back down.  I was like the drowning soul of Ps. 42:7b, “all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.” Sometimes it feels like life is just trying to kill you.  

       God has made the word “unless” significant to me in this hardship.  It’s found 3 times in the Book of Psalms.  Remember, the word means “if not for.”  

Ps. 94:17 Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.   

Ps. 119:92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should have perished in my affliction.   

        I have felt this in these trials.  I have related to not feeling, but knowing, that if I had not delighted in God’s Word before I got here, I should have perished.  If I had not determined many years ago to love God, and to make Him the center of my life, and to follow Him in whatever may come, perhaps I would not be typing this devotion today.  There is a good chance that I may not be serving Him at this point.  I might have quit.  The next verse tells why I haven’t done that thus far: 

Ps. 27:13 I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  

           I like to chew on verses one small portion at a time, so when I recite this verse in my mind, I often pause at the word “believed.”  “I had fainted unless I had believed.” I must believe to keep from fainting! “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4b) It’s faith that bears all of us up and keeps us from falling.  We must believe that we will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  That’s here.  That’s now.  We don’t have to wait to see God’s goodness in heaven.  It is there, but we don’t live there yet.  We need God to show Himself strong (2 Chron. 16:9) to us now as we suffer.  And, praise be to His name, that is exactly what He does.  Just the simple act of believing that He will be true to His Word to us is enough to keep us from fainting, and to make us overcomers.  

       The conditions have been met.  Unless God had helped me, I would have almost died.  Unless His law had delighted me over the years, I would have perished when the hard things came.  I would have fainted and fallen had I not believed that I would see God’s goodness here and now.  God did help me to believe.  God did show me His goodness.  He has preserved me to this point.  Isn’t He gracious? 

Ps. 9:1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.