Accepting Adversity...Staying Strong

Wednesday, August 26
The Oak and the Reeds
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.Psalm 119:71
Recommended ReadingJob 1
A very large oak tree was uprooted by the wind and thrown across a stream. It fell among some reeds, which it thus addressed: "I wonder how you, who are so light and weak, are not entirely crushed by these strong winds." They replied, "You fight and contend with the wind, and consequently you are destroyed; while we on the contrary bend before the least breath of air, and therefore remain unbroken, and escape." *
An unbearable storm arose in Job's life and his response was "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and… not accept adversity?" His wife told him to curse God and die (Job 2:9-10). She believed nothing good could come from their trials, but Job chose to believe that the goodness of God was greater than the intensity of the storm. And it was.
When we experience storms, we can either respond as the oak tree, fighting and contending and begging God to remove it from our life, or we can bend and sway as the reeds, allowing God to carry us through the wind, unbroken and ultimately stronger in the end.
When you face the perils of weariness, carelessness, and confusion, don't ask for an easier life. Pray instead to be a stronger man or woman of God.
Luis Palau