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Men of Integrity, Nov/Dec 2001
Shake It Off
Theme for this Week: Tapping in to God's Power
Wednesday, December 12
Key Bible Verse: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us to learn to endure (Romans 5:3).
Bonus Reading: Romans 5:4-5
An old dog fell into a farmer's empty well. After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving. Instead he planned to bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery.
When the farmer began shoveling, initially the old dog was hysterical. But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him: Every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back he should shake it off and step up. Fighting off panic, he did this blow after blow.
It was not long before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefited him—all because of the way he handled his adversity.
If we face our problems and respond to them positively, refusing to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to bless us! Forgiveness, faith, prayer, praise, and hope are some of the biblical ways to shake it off and step up out of the wells in which we find ourselves.
—Bruce Shelley in PreachingToday.com
My Response:
A "well" I'm now in might be . …
Thought to Apply:
If you are not having problems, you are missing an opportunity for growth.
—Thomas Blandi
Adapted from: PreachingToday.com
Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
November/December 2001, Vol. 4, No. 6
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Prayer for the Week |
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Sovereign Lord, help me to accept my trials as permitted by You to strengthen me.
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