[Monday's Devotional] - Don't be an Ass!

Don't be an Ass!   I'm not sure about you, but so often I feel buried alive under the pressures of work and life in general. This week we will take a look at some scripture and parables that act as encouragement when we feel overwhelmed. Today's encouragement comes from an old fable.   "One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; so it just wasn't worth it to him to try to retrieve the donkey.   He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. Realising what was happening, the donkey at first cried and wailed horribly. Then, a few shovelfuls later, he quieted down completely.   The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded by what he saw. With every shovelful of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of all the neighbours."   The donkey had an answer to the pressures and burdens that can sometimes bury us, and so did King David:   "I waited and waited and waited for God.  At last he looked; finally he listened.  He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud.  He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. Psalm 40 1-3 [MSG]   God uses adversity as a stepping stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is to never give up, wait on the Lord, and in His strength shake it off and step on it.   Dawn Milward   Twitter Website Copyright © 2016 St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthews & St. Oswalds Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!