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John had not eaten for several days. As he was walking along the countryside he came upon a beautiful orchard of apple trees. It appeared that the trees had already been harvested of their fruit however. As he stood there admiring the orchard, a man approached him introducing himself as Dan Musick, owner of the orchard and asked, “Are you hungry, my friend?” “Yes, I sure am”, John replied, “I haven’t eaten in days.” Dan then informed him that the orchard had already been harvested, but there might be a few apples left and he was welcome to eat whatever he could find.
As John entered the orchard, he noticed that one tree had a ladder set up underneath and there were a few small apples left in the higher branches. He quickly climbed the ladder and ate the few remaining apples, but he was still hungry. He thought of carrying the ladder to another tree but as he looked around all the other trees had been picked clean.
Just as he started to descend the ladder, he saw another tree in the distance. He had not been able to see this tree from the ground, but from this higher vantage point he could see it very well. It was a huge tree with an abundance of fruit still clinging to the higher branches. He could also see that a ladder was already set up under that tree as well.
Then he noticed the terrain between his position and the bountiful tree. It was extremely obstructed with thickets of thorns, steep embankments, and a wide stream to cross. He looked at the perilous terrain, then back at the tree, then at the terrain again, pondering if the reward would be worth the journey. His stomach growled out the answer.
He descended from the ladder and began to make his way toward the larger tree.. The going was slow as he navigated through the thicket. Briars pierced his clothing and flesh. He stumbled on the rocky ground falling frequently. With his accumulating bruises, and scrapes, he wondered if this was really such a great idea. Then he looked up and saw the big tree and the fruit of it’s upper branches. He was much closer now and could see just how full the tree was and it’s fruit was incomparable to any he had ever seen. His mouth watered and his stomach growled. He found the strength and motivation to press on.
He finally came out of the thicket and was at the stream. It looked much wider now that he was standing on it’s bank. As he began to wade the frigid water, he discovered it was much deeper than he had realized as the cold water came up to his waist. He stumbled on the stones and fell drenching him from head to toe, but he eventually made it across..
Just has he had overcome that obstacle, another lay before him. It was a steep embankment that looked nearly impossible to climb. He grabbed hold of a small tree growing on the side of the bank and while digging the sides of his feet into the slope he pulled himself up enough to get a new hold on another tree. Inch by inch John continued the process until he came to the top.
Once he made it to the top of the embankment he saw his reward before him. He scaled the ladder that reached high into the tree and found himself surrounded by picture perfect apples. He quickly began to eat from the tree. The fruit was as tasty as it was beautiful. It was sweet and filling. The doubts he had previously had about whether the reward was worth the journey were all gone. It was worth every step, every bruise and scrape he had endured. He ate his fill and was very satisfied.
When John had finished eating, he climbed down from the ladder and realized that he now had to make his way back to where he had began. Just then he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. He stepped to the other side of the tree and saw a pick up truck appear over the hill a short distance away. It was Dan, the owner of the orchard. It seems that there was an easier route that he had not known about. Dan drove right up to the tree and got out of his truck with a big smile on his face. He told John that he had watched him from a distance as he had made his way to the big tree. He was impressed with his determination and willingness to endure so much to get what he wanted. “You’re just the kind of man I’d like to have working for me. Would you like a job?” Dan asked. John was thrilled by the offer and accepted the job immediately.
It seems his reward was even much greater than expected!
Sometimes God will take us on a hard journey trough a valley in order to ultimately place us on higher ground. While we are going through the valley and experiencing trials and tribulation, it may not seem that it is for our benefit at all. One may wonder why God doesn’t just bless a person without taking through trials in the process? Well, sometimes He does! Sometimes God will hand us treasures and lift us to a higher plateau without us having to go through the slightest affliction. Sometimes however, we need to be worked on, pruned, and grown. Hardship and misfortune often accomplishes this better than anything else. Through tribulation, we grow in strength, wisdom, patience, faith, and fellowship with Him. Therefore it is very important that we lean on our Lord and draw up as close to Him as we can when we are going through our trials; otherwise we may be in that valley for a lot longer than we have to be.
Unfortunately, it seems that some people withdraw into themselves and even allow their fellowship with God diminish during times of hardship or sorrow. Their church attendance will fall off, along with their prayer life and bible study time. God has the answer to every problem we will ever encounter and He wants to help us. Understand that sometimes He “delivers us from” and other times he “takes us through.” Paul asked God to remove certain burdens from him (a thorn in his side), yet God’s answer was that His grace was sufficient. In Paul’s case he was not delivered from his burden, but was given the grace to bare it (took him through).
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9For the very same reasons that some will withdraw from God during times of tribulation are the reasons they ought to be making every effort to draw closer to Him.
By turning from God during times of affliction rather than turning “to” him, we bring more tribulation upon ourselves. If we would have the desire and make the effort to grow in Christ and continually strive toward the mark of perfection as instructed, we may not have to experience as many afflictions as we do. I say this because there are other ways to grow as a Christian other than experiencing tribulation. If we will study God’s word daily, pray without ceasing, seek His face, labor for Him, attend worship services, maintain family devotions, put into practice the principles we learn from God’s word in our daily lives, give thanks and be thankful in our hearts for our provisions and our blessings, let our light shine before others as a witness for Christ, and praise Him without fail both in times of joy and in times of sorrow, then we will grow as Christians in all areas and thereby may avoid God having to grow us through tribulation due to our slothfulness and indifference.
Doing the best we can do however, we will fail and come short of the glory of God somehow and somewhere along the way. Therefore we ALL need God to work on us and mold us more to the likeness of Christ at times. I am not saying therefore that if we make the effort to do all the things listed above that we will never have to experience a hardship, but I do believe we can experience less of them and stay in the valleys for a lesser time if we will simply diligently seek a closer walk with God through these things.
Also consider that God may sometimes take us through a valley for the purpose of preparing us for a work or mission that He wants us to do. An army does not go into battle without first going through training. Well, boot camp can be tough, but you don’t want to go to war without it!
We may not always know why God allows us to go through a hardship. He is under no obligation to explain His reasons to us. It may not even have anything to do with us at all. It could be that our afflictions are working on someone else in some way. When my brother-in-law had cancer, two of his brothers were extremely grief stricken and had no peace. Through this sorrow their hearts were softened and prepared to receive the message of the gospel and as a result they were saved.
Consider the story of Joseph. Here is a man who experienced one misfortune after another. He was betrayed by his own brothers. He was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery and then imprisoned for a crime which he did not commit. In the end however, he became second in command of all of Egypt. Looking backward through the story it is obvious that each of his misfortunes was a stepping stone taking him closer to his position of power and fortune. A very important point to remember in this story is that while Joseph was going through his trials he did not know himself what laid in store except for a prophetic dream that one day his brothers would bow before him. As he went through his trials he remained faithful to God even at the risk of being executed for not bowing to the Pharaoh. He continued to honor God in his life through all his afflictions. He must have prayed for deliverance from the pit but was only delivered into slavery. As a slave he surely prayed for freedom, only to be cast into prison. When God’s plan came together however, he was more than restored to his original status, but rather he was delivered to a much higher place.
The purpose of this piece is to encourage God’s children who may be going through difficult times to not be discouraged by their circumstances. Realize that God has a purpose for what ever you are going through and that if you remain faithful in your Christian walk, God promises to bring you out better than you went in.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
I close with these scriptures of inspiration for those who are in the valley between the high place they were on and the mountain God is taking them to…
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Psalm 30:5I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James 4:8And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:18
Carl Light
© Copyright 2006 Carl Light (Copy as is with reference to source with permission)
