Have you heard about the "gator aid" that was given to enlisted men in a Florida training camp during World War II? The daily training for those GIs included a run through an obstacle course. On the final stretch of the endurance test, they had to grab a rope and swing across a broad, shallow pool.

Under the blazing southern sun the water looked so inviting to the men that most of them soon developed a habit of making it only halfway across the pond--that is, until an enterprising lieutenant made it the new home for a large alligator. From that day on, the recruits left the ground 15 feet from the water's edge and fell sprawling in the dust on the other side.

Likewise, our behavior as Christians must sometimes be shaped by the "encouragement" of the danger of unfavorable circumstances. Without God's loving correction and faithful discipline we would never develop spiritual strength and endurance. If the Lord didn't permit threatening conditions to come into our lives, we'd soon succumb to feelings of self-sufficiency and overconfidence.

The next time you feel the pain of a distressing situation, remember the words of David, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes."  — Mart De Haan