A friend of actress and comedienne Gracie Allen once sent a small, live alligator to her as a gag. Not knowing what to do with it, Gracie put it in the bathtub and then left for an appointment. When she returned home, she found a note from her maid. “Dear Miss Allen: Sorry, but I have quit. I don’t work in houses where there is an alligator. I would have told you this when I started, but I never thought it would come up.”

How do you deal with unexpected surprises? Does your faith stay strong in spite of the alligators that appear out of nowhere? There will be a few of those alligators on the journey, you know.

Jesus warned His disciples of this in the Parable of the Soils when He said, “When tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles” (Matthew 13:21). We must wrestle those alligators!

What alligators are you wrestling this week?