By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
The road ahead will be rocky, but today it is made smooth. Joyous, hopeful people pave the path with palm branches, clothes off their very own backs! They sing praises, they shout Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel! But jealous ears hear and envious eyes see and the enemy prepares. From adulation to scornful rejection in a few short days, but there was a purpose. We wonder why we go through “dark nights of the soul,” feeling our prayers aren’t being answered or even heard, but they are! The gym rats motto “no pain, no gain,” can be applied to our soul as well. Trials strengthen our faith, help us see His promises fulfilled. Do we let the first sign of hard times drive us closer to or farther from Him, because He never leaves us! Trials should bend your knees and fold your hands! Even knowing full well what was going to happen after the garden, Jesus spent His last free time in earnest and agonizing prayer, accepting the ordeal that lay ahead of Him. No one likes or wants to go through a “winter of the soul” but it can be endured. Trust Him more, trust His word, trust His promises! It takes work to build muscles. It takes trials and trust to build spiritual muscles. Be ready, you never know when it may be time to “Pump you up!”