Caribbean pine trees routinely with stand fierce hurricanes, 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 than 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 tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance” (Rom. 5:3). Yes, we can grow taller through trial.

  — Henry G. Bosch