A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The
Lord
told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in
front
of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the
rock
with all his might. So, this the man did, day after day. For many years
he
toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the
cold,
massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might.
Each
night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his
whole
day had been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan)
decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind:
"You
have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't
moved."
Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and
that
he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.
Satan said, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving
just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough."
That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter
of
prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord,"
he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my
strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I
have
not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong?
Why am I failing?
The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve
Me
and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock
with
all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to
you
that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come
to
Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that
really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your
back
sinewy and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your
legs
have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much,
and
your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you
haven't
moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to
exercise your
faith
and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move
the
rock."
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect
to
decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple
obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves
mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.
When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H.!
When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H.!
When people don't react the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.H!
When your money is "gone" and the bills are due... just P.U.S.H!
When people just don't understand you ... just P.U.S.H.!
P= Pray
U= Until
S= Something
H= Happens
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