Prickly People

Prickly People

Jean Bundas

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV)

Have you ever felt that someone has been placed in your life just to make you miserable? Seems no matter how hard you try to get along, this person is determined to be hurtful. It is not a fun place to be, and it’s where I found myself many years ago.

As I prayed about the situation, God spoke to my heart: “Why are you getting upset at the prickly people I use to spur you on?” He brought to my memory a story about how a mother eagle begins to make the nest uncomfortable for the baby eaglets when it is time for them to leave. The branches begin to prick at the little eaglets and they cannot seem to snuggle in anymore and find that comfortable place.

The mother eagle begins to fly by the nest and call out to the eaglets. She keeps trying to coax them to join her in the air. After a time, she dives at the nest and tears a part of it away! The eaglets do not know how to fly and begin to tumble toward the earth, crying out as they fall.

As the little eagles plummet from the sky to their death, the mother eagle swoops down and catches them before they hit the ground. Then, she carries them higher and higher. She pulls into a steep climb and shakes them loose once again. This happens over and over until the little eaglets figure out how to use their wings and fly!

It was always God’s plan for the eaglets to fly, but left on their own, they would never make the choice to leave the comfort of the nest. God does the same with us sometimes. He puts prickly people or circumstances in our lives that cause us to become uncomfortable. I was looking at the prickly people and feeling angry toward them, because of the hurt I felt. God showed me that He was making my “nest” uncomfortable; that I should not be angry at the prickles in my life.

He showed me that sometimes we have to work through the prickly places to find the rich fruit – i.e. the prickly pear, or the pineapple. He also spoke to my heart about the word “spur.” If you think of a horse – a spur under the horse’s saddle causes major discomfort. The horse will try to flee or get that saddle off quickly. Yet when the cowboy gently spurs the horse on with his boots, it causes minor discomfort and the horse is encouraged to go faster toward the goal.

God sometimes spurs us on in that gentle, yet uncomfortable way that encourages us to press on toward the goal. At other times, He places that irritant, the spur under our saddle that causes us to buck and reexamine the comfortable place we are in.

How could I face the prickly people and still love them without seeming like a hypocrite? God showed me through this illustration that I can. God has plans and dreams that He desires to see us fulfill. He wants to see us succeed. He is cheering us on, prodding us toward the goal.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us too much to leave us the way we are. Help us to see the situation through Your eyes and to allow these things to spur us on to grow in You. Above all, Lord, help us to love those we often do not like very much and to look past the prickle and see the person as You do. Amen.

The next time you are faced with a prickly spur, remember the eaglet, smile and embrace it, thanking God that He loves us too much to leave us where we are