file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db941101.txt
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OUR DAILY BREAD                 Tuesday, November 1, 1994
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READ:  Romans 5:1-5

           "Taller Through Trial"

   "We also glory in tribulations, knowing
    that tribulation produces perseverance."

               - Romans 5:3

Caribbean pine trees routinely withstand fierce hurri-
canes, long periods of drought, and even fire.  But one
thing they cannot tolerate is cultivation. In a well-kept
yard with plenty of water and fertilizer, they often die.

We tend to be like those pine trees.  During good times
we may grow complacent and lose our effectiveness for
Christ.  But blasts of trial remind us of our need to
depend on Him.  When we feel our weakest, we can
actually be the strongest (2 Cor. 12:10).

A tourist in Maine was watching a farmer build a stone
wall.  After a few moments, he inquired about the wall's
strange dimensions.  It was 4 feet high and 5 feet wide.
The farmer explained, "I'm building it like this so that
if it ever blows over, it will be taller that it was
before."

No doubt the industrious fencemaker said this with tongue
in cheek, yet there is a good lesson to be drawn from
this story.  Even though the storms of trial may seem to
blow us over, the Lord uses such experiences to make us
"taller" than we were before.

Sometimes in the midst of great trials, it may seem as if
the Lord has abandoned us.  But we can "glory in tribu-
lations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance"
(Rom. 5:3).  Yes, we can grow taller through trial.

    - Herbert G. Bosch

 I thank You, Lord, for trials sore,
 That taught me how to trust You more,
 For when I found no other stay,
 I learned to lean on You each day.

   - Sorrell

 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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 Faith needs exercise to grown strong.

 THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Luke 14-17

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