Dear Friend,

It takes time and repeated experience to learn life’s lessons, and there are usually some scrapes, bruises, and even scars in the process.

Dad, when your four-year-old fell and scraped her knee that first time learning to ride her bicycle, did you immediately sell the bike and assure her that that nasty old thing would never hurt her again?

I hope not. Why? Because smart parents know they can’t shield their kids from all of life’s bumps, and they don’t want to. Parents who don’t allow their four-year-old to ride a bike or play outdoors for fear she might get a scrape or a bruise, or don’t help her know what it’s like to fall and get up again and get back on the bike, are setting her up to be one terribly dependent, fearful twenty-four-year-old someday.

Now when his child falls and scrapes her knee, a loving father is certainly going to scoop her up in his arms, carry her into the house to treat the wound, and hold her close while she cries. That’s what God does for us in our pain. But a wise father will also encourage his child to go back out and try it again, because that’s the only way to learn to ride a bike.

If you want to learn more about how you can weather the storms of your life, you’ll want to get a copy of my 15-session CD series, Living Above the Circumstances, Volumes 1 and 2, as well as my booklet, Let It Go. With your generous gift to our ministry, I’ll send you both of these powerful resources to strengthen you in the tough times.

Remember, there’s a blessing behind the blast of each storm that hits, and you can find it by learning to trust God in the middle of your storms.

For His kingdom,
Tony Evans