Sometimes things in life can be a bit of a challenge! I recently started a project in our garden to clear some of the ground ready to add a pathway and some new plants. Once the ground was prepared and slabs laid, I started early the next morning to do the planting. The following morning one of the little plants had been pulled up. So I dutifully put it back in. The same thing happened again and again. Then something started pulling up a couple of the others. The poor plants with their roots continually exposed to the full heat of the summer sun are looking tired and drained. I feel their frustration! Having given them plenty of water and added some rocks to help hold them down whilst they reattempt to establish themselves, I’m hopeful it may deter whatever it is that has taken a liking to uprooting them.

This incident is only a minor thing, however it’s a good example of how in everyday life things can sometimes seem to be against us no matter what we do. Perhaps a test of our endurance or training for patience or other fruits of the Spirit. Whatever we find ourselves up against, large or small we are encouraged to remember these words Moses said to Israel before they entered the promised land:

“Be determined and confident. Do not be afraid of them. Your God, the Lord himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you” Deuteronomy chapter 31, verse 6