Did you ever have a cool place to play, hang out, or hide when you were a kid? I remember when my neighbors built a tree house. It was one my coolest memories. The only problem was the trip to the tree house. You see there was a fence in area we had to get through to get to the tree house. Now you say well going over a fence isn’t that hard, right? It wasn’t going the fence that was the issue, it was what was behind the fence. There were some sheep there. Now you’re probably wondering what the big deal is with some sheep. Well, sheep are very friendly and docile, well, except for Bam Bam. He was rightly named Bam Bam after the character in the Flintstones. For whatever reason I do not know, Bam Bam, would come charging after us kids as soon as he got over the fence. So one of us would always have to distract him running all over the place in the fenced in yard while the other kids scrambled up the tree house. We would have to do the whole process over again when we came out of the tree house and over the fence. Now that I look back at that, it’s kind of humorous. Yet, there’s still some correlation to us in our lives as we get older. Here on earth it’s a struggle sometimes. In the Bible in Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. The rain can be something hard or difficult or even painful. In the Bible in James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. So if we can somehow channel this pain and learn how to use it for God’s purposes we will become mature and complete in God. So as we are doing God’s work down here on earth we will have some trials (difficult experiences) we will go through. But we should know that something better than even that childhood tree house awaits us. As Jesus says in John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Before Paul’s death in the Bible he said in 2nd Timothy 4:7 & 8 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. So we need go through our trials looking to Jesus and having faith He will help us and deliver us.

Pray with me:

Dear Jesus, help me through my trials. I want to do a good job honoring you in all my actions and attitude. Show me the right path I need to take. Give me patience and deliver me. Bring other people into my path that I can bless from the experiences I have gone through. In Your holy name, Jesus, I commit all of my life into Your hands. Let Your will be done in all areas of my life. I submit to You, Jesus, all of me. Amen.