The sun had just risen over the high cleft that overlooked the water about one hundred feet directly below. From the edge of the lake emerged a small young turtle. There were birds overhead as the little turtle began to climb the slope that eventually would take him to the top of the hill.

As he began to make his way up the incline, the terrain proved to be a sharp contrast to the smooth sandy soil that surrounded the waterfront. There were numerous rocks that he had to climb over or navigate around. Just when his legs seemed to not be able to sustain his journey, the angle of ascent increased. However, he was determined to conquer the hill and peer over the edge. He also had another goal in mind but first he had to make it to the top.

After several hours of struggling he finally achieved his objective. Battered by the rocks and exhausted from his climb he rested and watched the birds soaring over the lake.

He had made this trip every day for the last several days. But each of the previous days had ended in disappointment. Although he had mounted the hill each time, there was still a goal he had not achieved even though he had expended his maximum effort. He could not understand why those he had grown up with seemed to accomplish the task with great ease. His father, mother and even his younger brothers and sisters had no problem with it.

Today would be his day. He would no longer have to settle for partial victory. He rested all afternoon and ate the tender grass that grew on the summit. Suddenly, he knew it was now or never. He ran as fast as a small turtle could run and leaped off the top of the cleft. He felt the wind in his face and he stretched his long neck as far forward as he could. At the same time he extended his four legs out in a fashion not too different from that of a skydiver.

He could see the lake as it seemed to get larger and larger and at the last moment he retreated fully back into his shell and went skipping across the water like a stone. As had happened each of the other days the waves carried him back to the shoreline, washing him up on the smooth soft sand. He contemplated his plight and resigned himself to the fact that he was a complete failure.

The birds had found an egg on the beach and thinking it had fallen from their nest they had rescued it. But when it hatched it was immediately obvious that this was no ordinary bird, in fact it was not a bird at all. Nevertheless, the mother and father birds had fed and watched over the infant turtle as if it were their own. However, after seeing this struggle they decided to explain to their adoptee he was indeed not a bird but a turtle.

The turtle was so happy. He no longer would have to struggle up the long hill. Never again would he have to hurl himself off of the cleft. When he looked around he saw other turtles near the water. He had seen them before but since he thought he was a bird he had just ignored them. He thanked his adopted parents for all they had done and raced (well crawled) away to be all that God had intended him to be.

Now, I don’t know if a bird has ever adopted a turtle and although I have on occasion heard them “talk”, the above story is fictitious. However, there are lessons that can be learned from this instructive tale.

It is quite apparent to us that God never intended turtles to fly. But if you were such a turtle and birds had raised you, you might not be aware of that fact. Our tendency is to imitate what we see around us. This can lead to struggles, torment and even spiritual death.

A person not reared in a Christian environment will pattern their behavior after what they observe in their peers and parents or other adults. Many will become confused, discouraged and feel like complete misfits. They try many avenues to find contentment but are never completely gratified.

The reason for this unrest is that they are striving to be what God never intended them to be. They never find true satisfaction until they learn, that although they were born in the nest of sin and shaped by a fallen world, they can be set free through Jesus Christ. They can find true fulfillment in being a child of God.

Until a person comes to the realization that he/she is made for God’s purpose and was never meant to live a life without Christ, they will go on living in the gloom of an unfulfilled existence. Like the distressed turtle they will continue to struggle toward their unattainable goal. However, once a person becomes aware that they were born to serve the Lord and they submit to that fact by faith in Christ, they like the turtle in our tale can find contentment.

If the small turtle could have just looked at himself in the water he would have seen that he was not a bird. He was just as valuable as the birds. God had made them both and equipped both for his purposes. Certainly, God had given him all that was needed to be a great turtle. He had placed him near to both water and land and had given him legs that were suited for both environments.

Unfortunately, many Christians also become malcontents. They set their eyes on those that they believe to be successful in God’s kingdom, instead of looking into the reflection of Living Water. They struggle daily to imitate their behavior and think by doing so that they too will find success. Over and over again they fail. Disillusioned, they cannot understand why they cannot achieve what others seem to accomplish so effortlessly. Always looking for the “Will of God ” for their lives the failing to realize that it is all around them.

God has placed each of us where we are today and equipped us to do His will. As Henry T. Blackaby teaches in his Experiencing God books and seminars, we need to look around us and see what God is doing where we are and then join that work using the talents He has given us.

This does not mean that our lives will always be easy. The turtle still had a lot to learn about being a turtle. There were still predators and long winters to overcome but he could be content in the knowledge of what he was and what he was to do.

So don’t be a struggling turtle … instead follow the example of the Apostle Paul when he states:

By L. Anguss Smith

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