Push

A man was sleeping in his cabin one night when suddenly his room was filled with light and the Savior 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.

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 his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing doubts into the man's weary mind: "You have been pushing against the rock for a long time and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." He gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. Discouraged and disheartened, the man thought, "Why kill myself? I'll just put in my time, giving the minimum effort and that will be good enough."

And that was what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength in doing what you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock one inch. Why's 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 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, your back is muscular, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition, you have grown much and your abilities now surpass what you used to have.

Yet 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. This you have done. "I, my friend, will now move the rock."

~Drive on, my friends. God will move your rock when you start helping your neighbor to move hers.~ With love, Alexis