Rising Above Adversity

This is one of my favorite stories that Joyce Meyers tells. I actually read it today on a pastor's blog that I follow and was reminded of the great lesson we can learn from it.

There was a farmer’s donkey that fell into a 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 it just wasn’t worth the effort to retrieve the donkey. Since he had planned to fill in the well anyway, he decided to kill two birds with one stone. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him with his problem. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey cried horribly as each shovel of dirt fell on him. Then to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. The farmer looked down into the well to see what was going on. He was astonished to see that with every shovel of dirt that hit the donkey's back, he would shake it off and take a step up. The farmer returned to shoveling with a smile on his face. As he and his neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, the donkey continued his march upward. Pretty soon the well was filled enough that the donkey simply stepped over the edge and trotted off.

What do you do when adversity comes? When Satan wants to bury you under the weight of your circumstances? I know this sounds pretty simplistic, but the book "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyers is a great practical book that taught me to overcome so many things that use to keep me in the pit. You can order it from her website or Amazon.