A Message
from Mike Tidwell
“SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP”
The
story is
told of an old dog that fell into a farmer's 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, the dirt hit his back and a thought
struck him. It dawned
on the dog that every time a shovel of dirt landed on
his back he should shake
it off and step up. This he did blow after blow. "Shake
it off and
step up, shake it off and step up. shake it off and step up!"
he repeated
to encourage himself.
No
matter how
painful the blows or how distressing the situation seemed, the
old dog fought
panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up! 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 us out of the wells in which we find ourselves.
After
reading
this story, a question came to my mind. What did the dog do
when he jumped
out of the well? Did he bite the farmer for trying to bury him
alive or did he
lick his face with gratitude?
James wrote
that we should be joyful for the trials in our lives knowing
that the testing
of our faith produces patience (James 1:2-4). Hopefully
the dog learned
patience and the farmer learned loyalty.
May we learn how to use our adversities.