Let’s face it, we’ve all been through tough times at one point or another in our life. In fact, some of you may be going through tough times even now. Life has a way of throwing us challenges that aren’t always what we want them to be and they seem to always be at the worst possible times. During these inevitable times of adversity and struggle, what do we do as Christians to make it through another day?
I was recently sitting out on my terrace enjoying the beautiful sunny day. It was a great time just to catch up on my reading and have some study time. The sun was blistering hot but, fortunately, I was sitting in the shade under the sheltering arms of an overhanging tree. The breeze in the shade was wonderful and while the heat of the day was all around me, I was totally comfortable under the sun-blocking arms of the tree. As long as I stayed under the protection of the tree, life was good; let me have to venture farther out on the terrace away from the tree’s protection and my life suddenly became very uncomfortable.
As I look back on my life, I can think of many times of trials and set-backs in my life. I often wonder why things happened the way they did and how (maybe) they could have been prevented or had a different outcome. In every case, I can trace the problem back to not following God in a particular situation. In every situation, I took it upon myself to do what I thought was right and not what God thought was right—and I suffered the consequences. I learned the hard way that God’s Word is like a sheltering tree in our life. If you stay under the umbrella of HIS magnificent grace, mercy, and strength, our lives are much more enjoyable. Yet, when we stray out from under HIS protection, life becomes uncomfortable and unbearable sometimes.
Where are you in your life journey? Are you underneath God’s sheltering arms, or do you simply see the tree off in the distance but are outside His protection doing your own thing? The choice is always yours; however, life is much more enjoyable under His protective arms.
