JACK WARD

There was a woman who was going through some very difficult and trying circumstances. She was experiencing major distress in her marriage. Her job was very unfulfilling and was causing her heartache.

She became so distraught over her circumstances that she felt like just giving up. She felt lonely, dejected and very isolated. She had tried everything she could to better herself, her marriage, things at work, but it seemed everything turned out horrible for her.

Finally, she reached the point of exhaustion and felt there was no way out of her terrible circumstances, and there would never be any more joy in her life. One day she was sitting in her kitchen, very frustrated and lonely. She sat there for a long time and just wept.

Then she noticed a small sparrow had somehow gotten into her kitchen, so she opened the door, thinking the sparrow would simply fly out the door. To her surprise, the sparrow kept flying into the closed window just above the door. This distraught woman noticed several times that the sparrow would fly directly into the top of the window, thinking it was an opening to freedom, and each time colliding with the glass of the window. This small sparrow would become weaker and weaker after hitting the window each time.

The woman also noticed the sparrow hitting the window lower and lower each time he flew into the window until he got so weak that he couldn’t even fly. All he could do was walk. Then she noticed this little sparrow very slowly, simply walking through the door to freedom.

As she observed this little bird walk through the door, the sparrow began to regain his strength and flew off into the air, free again.

It was as though God literally opened her spiritual eyes. She realized in almost every area of her life that she was behaving just like this sparrow. She was trying in her own way to get out of the confining situations she was in, each time being knocked down in defeat. In reacting harshly to her family members — knocked down! Not giving her best at work — knocked down! Paying back evil for evil done to her — knocked down! Saying and doing things she knew were wrong — knocked down!

She finally realized that all she had to do was just like this sparrow — very humbly walk in the power of God’s grace and mercy and allow Him to work out all her heartaches and difficulties.

We must understand that we can’t talk, lie or manipulate our way out of trouble, but we can always trust the way of God through trouble.

Psalm 10:6: “He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.” Only those who stand on the sure foundation of God’s Word can confidently say, “I shall not be moved.” This verse doesn‘t mean that God will take away all of our adversity, but that God will take our adversity and always turn it into our good. We won’t stay in adversity, but God will quickly move us out of it.

John 14:19: “Because I live, ye shall live also.” Finally, let me say that because Christ lives, you will live. To understand what it means to live because He lives is to really understand that it’s all because of Him and not about you! Understand that you will live forever in eternity with Christ our Lord.

So what is it to you, this small trouble that we all endure on our journey on this earth? What will it matter 100 years from now?

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