TRUST GOD IN 2019
One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried pitifully as the farmer tried in vain to get him out. Eventually the farmer decided that the humane thing to do was to fill the well with dirt. As much as he hated doing so, at least his donkey would soon be out of his misery.
He asked his neighbors to help. They presently grabbed shovels and began dumping dirt into the well. Initially the donkey cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.
As the neighbors continued shoveling dirt into the well, the farmer glanced down toward the doomed donkey. What he saw, however, amazed him. Whenever a shovel full of dirt fell on the donkey, he shook it off and stepped up on the growing heap. In a few hours the farmer and his neighbors happily witnessed the donkey step safely over the edge of the well.
All’s well that ends well! (Forgive the pun.)
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The aforementioned story brings to mind a well-known Bible passage – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
Which is to say that God IS ABLE to turn perplexing problems into positive blessings. Two Bible examples come to mind:
Due to the jealousy of his brothers, Joseph was nearly murdered, then sold into slavery. His situation worsened in Egypt. He ended up being imprisoned for a crime for which he never committed. Despite horrible hardships, Joseph later commented, “God meant it for GOOD, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to SAVE MANY PEOPLE ALIVE.” (Gen. 50:20)
In Acts 7, a courageous Christian named Stephen preached to a group of hostile Jews. Enraged by his message, they subsequently stoned the defenseless disciple to death. One of the Jews present at the execution was Saul of Tarsus. Despite the fact that he was initially pleased concerning the death of a Christian, it sparked something inside of him. That spark eventually fanned into an inferno of guilt when Jesus spoke to Saul from heaven as he was traveling to Damascus. Although the martyrdom of Stephen was tragic, his soul went to a better place and Saul became the premiere preacher to the Gentiles – the apostle Paul.
We will all face trials, adversities and setbacks in 2019 (Jn. 16:33, 2 Tim. 3:12). God, however, will work everything out for our good! Trust and see!
Jesus, always Jesus!
Dennis
One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried pitifully as the farmer tried in vain to get him out. Eventually the farmer decided that the humane thing to do was to fill the well with dirt. As much as he hated doing so, at least his donkey would soon be out of his misery.
He asked his neighbors to help. They presently grabbed shovels and began dumping dirt into the well. Initially the donkey cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.
As the neighbors continued shoveling dirt into the well, the farmer glanced down toward the doomed donkey. What he saw, however, amazed him. Whenever a shovel full of dirt fell on the donkey, he shook it off and stepped up on the growing heap. In a few hours the farmer and his neighbors happily witnessed the donkey step safely over the edge of the well.
All’s well that ends well! (Forgive the pun.)
**************************************************************
The aforementioned story brings to mind a well-known Bible passage – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
Which is to say that God IS ABLE to turn perplexing problems into positive blessings. Two Bible examples come to mind:
Due to the jealousy of his brothers, Joseph was nearly murdered, then sold into slavery. His situation worsened in Egypt. He ended up being imprisoned for a crime for which he never committed. Despite horrible hardships, Joseph later commented, “God meant it for GOOD, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to SAVE MANY PEOPLE ALIVE.” (Gen. 50:20)
In Acts 7, a courageous Christian named Stephen preached to a group of hostile Jews. Enraged by his message, they subsequently stoned the defenseless disciple to death. One of the Jews present at the execution was Saul of Tarsus. Despite the fact that he was initially pleased concerning the death of a Christian, it sparked something inside of him. That spark eventually fanned into an inferno of guilt when Jesus spoke to Saul from heaven as he was traveling to Damascus. Although the martyrdom of Stephen was tragic, his soul went to a better place and Saul became the premiere preacher to the Gentiles – the apostle Paul.
We will all face trials, adversities and setbacks in 2019 (Jn. 16:33, 2 Tim. 3:12). God, however, will work everything out for our good! Trust and see!
Jesus, always Jesus!
Dennis
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