The Story of the Donkey and the Well ~ Shake it off, and stand on it!

After -for lack of a better word- a rather crummy day today my Dad reminded me a story that he once heard a preacher tell. The story is about a farmer, a donkey and a well.

One day a donkey fell into a deep well. As you can imagine, the donkey made enough noise that the farmer went to check on him and noticed what happened. Once the farmer realized the situation that he was facing, and knowing that there was no real way to get the donkey out, the farmer decided that the best idea would be to go ahead and fill the well with dirt. He called a few of his friends over, and shovel by shovel, they began filling the famer’s well with dirt. The donkey continued making noise for quite a while, even after they began to fill the hole, but eventually he was quiet. The farmer and his friends assumed what had happened to the donkey, so they looked down in to the well. To quite their surprise, the donkey was nearly nose to nose with them. You see, each time the farmers would toss dirt on the donkey; the donkey just shook the dirt off and took a step up. Eventually so much dirt had been tossed in the hole, the donkey was able to simply walk out of it.

The fact of the matter is that some days life is going to put you in a pit, and throw dirt on you.  But what I’ve discovered is that we can either choose to be buried alive in the “pits” we find ourselves in or we can make the choice to shake the dirt off and take a step up. Tonight I encourage you that when life throws dirt on you, that you make the choice to shake it off and stand on it. Rise above the crud that may come at you. Stand strong on the Word of God, and speak life to your situation.

I am so thankful for the people who speak life to me, but I’ve learned through the years, that sometimes the best thing you can do is to encourage yourself. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Let His joy be your strength. Allow His peace that passes all understanding to flood over you. And, most importantly, know that He has plans for your life that are far better than you can imagine.

 

Blessings, 

Hannah



PS - Listen to this song if you need to be encouraged this evening. :)
Encourage Yourself - Donald Lawrence