The other day I was having a conversation with a dear friend of mine, and I was asking her what she thought some of my strengths were. A few of the strengths that she mentioned were courage, tenacity and humor. When I questioned her as to how she thought I might go about sharpening those strengths, her answer caused me to burst into laughter..."How to sharpen those things? Well, you could put yourself in a pit of alligators!"
The realization stuck me that metaphorically speaking, I have spent some serious time in an alligator pit during my lifetime. You know, that place of captivity, where you are enveloped in slime and shadows, and you can hear your enemies slowly sneaking up on you. Jaws snapping, they are poised to make you the entree on the morning menu.
Aside from draining the swamp or being rescued by a helicopter with a long rope, what kind of strategy do we need to develop for the next time we find ourselves in such an awkward place? It's better to think about this in the present, because when we are surrounded by alligators it is difficult to remember what our focus should be.
Here are some prescriptions for success:
First, Paul said, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. That is, concentrate your concern on the eternal, not the temporal. “Fix [your] eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”(Colossians 3:2) Fixing our eyes on Jesus and knowing that His promises are true will cause courage to arise in our hearts in the very midst's of adversity.
Secondly, Stand therefore having . . . your feet shod with the preparation [hetoimasÃa, or firm footing for the foundation] of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:13–15). This intimates the firm and solid knowledge of the gospel in which the believer may stand firm and unmoved like soldiers in their military duty. The Roman soldiers were furnished with shoes that had cleats on the soles for this purpose. Standing in the face of adversity (slime, shadows, & snapping jaws) causes us to rise up in a spirit of tenacity that will always frustrate the enemy and cause him to loosen his grip on us.
And last but not least, David's intense focus on God gave him the assurance that after he had "walked through the valley of the shadow of death" he would be sitting down for a meal. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;" The Psalms also tell us that God laughs at His enemies. "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision."(Psalm 2:4)
So here we are stuck in a pit and God begins to prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies (alligators)...and He is laughing! Now here is where humor kicks in. If God is laughing at our enemies while we are eating this meal, that means that we are not going to be "the meal," and we are just about to be delivered from this pit that we find ourselves in. I don't know about you, but that makes me laugh!
So next time you find yourself in a pit of alligators don't be afraid (fear not). Just know that you are a much loved child of God and He is just helping you sharpen your strengths, and He is forming you into the image of His dear Son!