by Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
Have you ever thought of a cucumber as resilient? They are.
Not the cucumbers that add a bit of crunch to your salad. Not the cucumbers that grace veggie trays and taste great dipped in a bit of Ranch dressing.
Not the cucumber that is made into a tasty pickle for the top of your burger. Those are all great and yes that particular veggie is found all over the world in some form or another.
The resilient cucumber that I am speaking about is the sea cucumber.
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It is a sea creature that is found in the coral reefs of the world. For those who have never seen one, it looks just like a cucumber. Frankly it is not that exciting to watch.
It is not as fun to watch as the clown fish that pokes its head out of the coral to watch the world go by. It pales in comparison to the beauty of the reef and all the coral. It is really not that pretty.
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Compared to all the activities of the multitudes of species of fish with all their bright colors, it is rather boring. Yet is it amazingly resilient.
You see the sea cucumber has a way to fend off those who would do it harm.
Because sea cucumbers move very slowly, they seem like an easy target for a predator who is looking for an easy meal. Sea cucumbers always have a surprise waiting, however, if a predator comes snooping around wanting to destroy the cucumber.
It is called evisceration.
Need help with the meaning of that word? It simply means that they eject their guts. I know, gross, right?
But imagine the effect that has on the predator. They come along looking to fill their stomachs with a nice fat cucumber and then suddenly they are swimming in intestine-filled water. Nasty. However, some sea creatures are not put off by that, so they just eat the nasty intestines.
Interestingly, that is not the end of the sea cucumber. They go about their lives regrowing their now missing intestines. Now that is resilience!! That is the way to bounce back from difficulties and trials of life.
Each of us have certainly faced difficulties.
There are all manner of things ways that the devil seeks to destroy us and make us lose our focus. Peter wrote in I Peter 5:8,9—
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
Our sinful world is filled with things designed to take our attention away from God. Yet it is only through spilling our guts to God and fully giving of ourselves to Him that we can have the resilience that comes from God to survive and thrive in God’s power.
James said it this way:
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
When we give all we have to God that is the way to resist the devil who wants to destroy us.
This week be resilient by submitting to God all you have, resisting the devil in that way and then go about the life that God has called you to live.