The Value Of Stress

A famous violin maker took his young apprentice into the forest to locate wood to make new instruments.

As they began to climb a mountain, the young apprentice pointed out some tall, strong, sturdy and healthy looking trees to the master violin maker. The old gentleman looked at the trees in passing, shook his head and kept climbing. Finally they passed the tall trees that grew half way up the mountain and came to some short, gnarled trees near the top. The trees had endured the ice of many winters and the winds that swirled around them since the time they began to grow.

As the old master began to cut down one of the trees, the young apprentice questioned him, asking, “Why these trees? The others were tall and beautiful.”

“The wood of the sheltered trees will break under the pressure of shaping the wood into violins,” said the old man. “But the trees beaten by time and nature will produce the best wood and they will make the most beautiful music.”

It is normal to question God when we are torn by trials and surrounded by storms. Why, we ask. He is making us strong “so that when others are troubled, we can pass on to them the same help and comfort God has given us.”

Prayer: Lord, when nights are long and days short, may we accept and understand that You are preparing us to minister to the needs of others when they suffer. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Scripture for Today: 1 Peter 1:1-9 NLT These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. (Read more...)