Pushing Against the Rock

one of the stories i really, really like...

There was a man who was asleep one night when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man He had a work for him to do and showed him a large rock. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture placing thoughts into the man's mind--"You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it?"--thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough."

That he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

To this the Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it.

Your task was to push. And now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed but is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock.

BUT YOUR CALLING WAS TO BE OBEDIENT, TO PUSH AND TO EXERCISE YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN MY WISDOM, this you have done. I, my friend, I will now move the rock."

I like the story because it rings true... so often I am looking for tangible results as a result of the amount of effort I put in... almost like physics--for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. But it doesn't work that way I've found. We can't move the rock... we weren't asked to in the first place.

It's interesting how, like Pastor How said, God is more interested in our character than our comfort or convenience. I wouldn't have it any other way... yeah.