The farmer and the well

Romans 12:2 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

There was a farmer who had a very loyal dog. The dog grew to be one of the farmers most faithful companions. One day, this dog was playing outside, but was unaware that the farmer had just dug a well. As the farmer was finished up, he headed back to grab lunch. Before he reached the front door of his home, he heard a yelp, and turned just in time to see his faithful companion falling down this new well. The farmer had no way to get the dog back up, as days passed with every effort failing and seeing the dog suffering a great deal from starvation and dehydration, the farmer made up his mind to put his faithful dog out of his misery. Unable to shoot the dog because he had no weapon, the farmer decided the best way was too bury the dog underneath. The farmer, with tears in his eyes, grabbed his shovel and began to heave mounds of dirt into this well which poured ontop of his dog. But something strange was happening. Instead of allowing the dirt to stay on top of him, this dog would shake it off, and step on the dirt. With each shovel load that came raining down on him, the dog began to rise up, as the ground beneath him began to fill up. Eventually, the farmer shoveled enough dirt that the dog was able to jump out of the well.

Life can be difficult. It can be extremely hard. But it's important that we don't let it bury us. It's easy to let the troubles of life overwhelm us so that we can feel sorry for ourselves and waste away, but that's not what men and women of God do. When life comes raining down on you, trying to overcome you, it's so important that we shake it off and continue to rise to what God has called us to be. Temptation comes the same way, trying to overcome you, bury you, and destroy you. With God, we have the power to shake off the temptation by being in "constant prayer" and spending extravagant time in Gods word. Stand tall! Shake off what the world and the enemy throws at you, and rise to what God has called you to be. As we overcome struggles in life and overcome temptation, our spiritual strength will grow exponentially. Rejoice when struggles come your way, for they will help you become stronger! What the enemy means for harm, God will turn around for good if you stand your ground.

Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."