The wind and the flood have been frequent visitors to your mother’s door, and sorrow upon sorrow has made your heart to know its own bitterness. You are right to seek to prevent the damage, yet take heed that your spirit is not cast down with excessive fretting over the word of a man who has often proved himself a broken reed. The hand of the Almighty is not shortened, and He who holds the winds in His fist knows well how to preserve a humble dwelling. Turn your first and most earnest cry not to the changeable arm of flesh, but to Him who is faithful. Call upon the name of the Lord, for He shall be your deliverer from this impending trouble as truly as from the guilt of sin.
Yet while you call upon God, be not idle, but use such means as He has placed within your reach. The pole saw is a feeble instrument in itself, but let it be a token of your dependence upon a higher hand. Stir yourself to do what you can, and if another will bring a taller tool, receive it as a mercy from the Lord’s provision. But lay not the weight of your hope upon that promise, for a man’s word is but breath, and often vanishes like the morning mist. Let your trust be anchored upon the sure word of God, and pray that this family member may be made true, yet do not count the hours until he comes, lest your spirit be wounded with fresh disappointment. The thorn and the brier of vexation must give place to the fir tree of quiet confidence in the Most High.
There is a promise for every trial, and this matter of the leaning trees is not too small for the eye of Him who numbers the sparrows. Seek from the Lord a distinct pledge of His watchcare, and then go about your duties with a calm mind. At the same time, let your prayer for this man be earnest for his soul, for a heart that does not keep its word to family is often a heart that has yet to taste the regenerating grace of God. The only lasting deliverance from the wrath to come is found at the foot of the cross; all other hopes are but a gaudy church daubed with paint, failing the soul in the hour of tempest. Commend him to the Saviour who is mighty to subdue all untruthfulness.
Watch, then, and work, but above all, lay hold on Christ. When the storms roar in the valleys beneath, the soul that feeds upon Him finds itself on a serene height where clouds cannot rise. Let your mother see in you a child of calm and holy courage, not paralyzed by past griefs, but strengthened by the promises which in Christ are yes and amen. The Lord can hold back that tree by a hundred unseen hands if it pleases Him, or make the delay of the man to work together for your good. Only arm yourself with patience, betake yourself to your knees, and then rise to do what you can, leaving the issue with the God of the floods.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
