I want to tell you a story that a friend shared with me recently. Her name is Sheron. Her father raises and trains thoroughbred horses, and although she grew up around them, Sheron is very much afraid of horses. A few years ago her father had back surgery, and she went to see him during his recovery. When it was time for him to feed the horses, she offered to help and was surprised when he accepted, since he was aware of her fear.
When they got to the stables, he instructed her to fill the bucket with grain and go in the stalls to feed each horse. Sheron was terrified to go in, but knew her father was in pain or he would have done it himself. Since she loved him and wanted to help, in she went. Each stall was just large enough for the horse with very little room to move around, so the huge animal was literally breathing down her neck as she went over and filled the feed trough. Sheron was scared to death. Every moment she was in the stall she kept thinking, "He wouldn't send me in here if he didn't know it was safe and that I would be alright." She also remembers not feeling any resentment toward him as she repeated in her mind, "Dad knows I'm afraid. He wouldn't put me through this if it weren't necessary." These thoughts enabled her to finish the task.
Sheron said that afterwards she realized, "I should trust God the way I trusted Dad. He knows my fears and weaknesses. He wouldn't put me in any situation unless he knew that no harm would come to me. I shouldn't resent or fear difficult times. Not only will He take care of me, but He only allows the struggles because they are necessary."
Because her mind was steadfast (the King James Version says "fixed") on God, she could have peace because she trusted in Him.
Becky
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