The Longest Lever. The word lever comes from the Latin word levare, which means “to raise”. Early humans used levers to move heavy stones and as digging sticks. Think of the pyramids in Egypt. They didn’t have cranes back in the day, but they had levers and fulcrums that allowed them to build these masterpieces that are still standing centuries later! The most plausible example of how the pyramids were built is found in Brittanica. “The Egyptians employed a sloping and encircling embankment of brick, earth, and sand, which was increased in height and in length as the pyramid rose; stone blocks were hauled up the ramp by means of sledges, rollers, and levers.” This boggles my mind! I have never seen these works of art but hope and pray I will someday.

When my husband and I bought our home in 1999, the one we are still living in 25 years later, we had a dilemma. How do we move our jacuzzi from the north side of the property to the south? I went to work one morning and thought I’d bring home some of the guys from work and have them help George move the jacuzzi. I’m not sure how heavy it was but if we had enough burly men, it could be done. To my surprise, when I came home, the jacuzzi had been moved. I was scratching my head and asked my husband George, who helped him move that Bohemia of a spa? He said, “The Egyptians!” George had himself a pry bar with a few pieces of wood and proceeded to scoot that jacuzzi with a lever clear across our yard! That was ingenious, if I say so myself. I had no idea such a thing could be done!

One lever, one small piece of equipment can start a build. Just like our prayer life. When we pray daily, we start a relationship. A relationship like no other. Like a parent, or in my case, grandparent, who witnesses the first steps of a child, our God rejoices when we take baby steps in His direction. Each prayer, each time we spend talking to the Lord, exalts Him and takes the focus off ourselves. Bowing our hearts, bending our knee, puts our heart in a position that magnifies God. Levering is our opportunity to reach the Lord, to focus our attention on His mighty name. As Oswald Chambers wrote, “ It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things.” And when we do the ordinary, God will do the extraordinary. All we are asked to do is give our best, and let God do the rest.

“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ ‭