Windy Nights
By Grant Gaines
There once was an old man who had spent his entire life working on a ranch. Year after year this man would wake up early and stay up late to make sure that his animals were cared for and his fields were properly treated. Eventually, the scorching sun and blistering wind finally got the best of the aging farmer and he needed some help to take care of the place. The farmer decided to place an ad in the local newspaper that sought a laborer who was skilled in driving a tractor and caring for horses.
The first day the ad ran in the newspaper, the old farmer received a phone call from a young man who was interested in accepting the position. The farmer asked the man if he had any experience driving a tractor. “No sir,” replied the young man. “But I can sleep when the wind blows.” Not quite sure what the man meant, the farmer asked him how much experience he had taking care of horses. “None, sir.” Replied the young man. “But I can sleep when the wind blows.”
The old farmer told the young man that he would be looking elsewhere for an employee and thanked him for his time. But after a month went by with no other suitors interested in the farmer’s job offer, the famer called back the young man and brought him onto his farm to give the man a “trial run” to see if he could get the job done.
After several weeks had passed by, the young man was quickly learning what it took to work on a farm and became quite good at maneuvering the massive John Deere tractor in and out of tight spots as well as caring for the farmer’s prized horses.
One night the farmer was abruptly awoken from his deep slumber to the loud crack of thunder and the angry pattering of rain on his roof. The farmer sprung out of his bed and pulled on his boots and hat faster than a dog runs to the window when he hears the doorbell ring. As the farmer sprinted out of the house, he angrily noticed that the young man was sound asleep in his bed despite the storm that was threatening their livelihood.
“The barn!” exclaimed the farmer as he hustled over towards the barn. “The horses are probably untied and the barn doors are probably flapping like bird’s wings in all of this wind!” But to the farmer’s surprise, the doors were tightly shut and the horses were securely fastened in their stalls.
“The tractor! The tractor is probably still in the middle of the field where the young man was working this afternoon,” was the next thought the farmer had as he began to make his way towards the field. But just as was the case with the barn, as soon as the farmer came upon the field, he noticed that the tractor was parked securely in its shed, exactly where it was supposed to be.
“The hay! All of my precious hay is probably getting ruined by this torrential downpour!” thought the farmer as he turned his attention away from the tractor. But once again, the farmer found the hay under tightly staked down tarps that were protecting the hay from the rain.
Then, while standing in the rain in the wee hours of the morning the farmer finally understood what the young man meant when he said that he could sleep through the wind.
Everything the young man did was so excellent that when even the fiercest of storms rolled in, he didn’t have to scramble around to make sure everything was taken care of. Instead, because he always operated in integrity and faithfulness to the smallest degree, he could just roll over in his bed and enjoy some more restful sleep.
Proverbs 10:9 (NIV) echoes this truth when it says, “The man of integrity walks securely….” When you walk in true integrity and faithfulness at all times, you don’t need to fear any storm that might blow your way. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV), “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
When you walk in integrity by following the commands of our Lord, you don’t need to fear any storm because, as Proverbs 10:35 (NIV) says, “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.”
By the way you are living your life right now, can you sleep through the wind?
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
