Trunk Monkey Christians

Have you seen the trunk monkey ads? They are really quite amusing. You can find them at trunkmonkeyad.com. In these ads we are told that whatever the problem might be, whether it is dealing with road rage, kids throwing eggs at your car, or even your wife giving birth in the back seat, all you have to do is hit the trunk monkey button and out pops a monkey to take care of the problem. Wouldn't that be nice?

While the ads are meant to be funny and entertaining the reality is that even many Christians think this way. They want the Lord to just take away all their problems. They think that if they just pray it will go away. Many Christians are frantically searching for that spiritual trunk monkey button and they follow the latest fad that comes along that is sure to take away all their problems.

The ads are a joke! There is no such thing as a trunk monkey! And problems don't just go away. In fact the troubles, trials, and even the persecutions of the Christian life are designed by God for our good. 1 Peter 1:6 talks about the distressing, but necessary, trials associated with following Christ. They are necessary because the Lord uses them to refine our faith (1 Peter 1:7a). Then our refined faith is rewarded by the Lord (1 Peter 1:7b). Amazing! The Lord graciously gives us faith, then He refines it, then He rewards it. How gracious! How wise! How generous is our loving Lord! Now you can see why we are to consider it all joy when the trials come our way (James 1:2-4).

So put some duck tape over the trunk monkey button and keep driving by faith, trusting that the Lord is at work and what He is accomplishing is of far greater value than what could be realized if there even was such a thing as a spiritual trunk monkey.