Elijah and Dad watched the chameleon eggs in front of them intently. The minuscule shapes swayed back and forth, a small crack appearing on one.
“Oh look! It’s starting to come out!” Elijah gasped. “Should I help it?”
“No, we can’t help it,” Dad answered. The egg rocked a little, then stopped.
Elijah continued watching the egg, and a few minutes passed without any movement. “Are you sure? It doesn’t look like it will make it.”
“If it doesn’t struggle now, it won’t get stronger because of it. Then later, it might die of something small that it would have managed.”
The infant reptile struggled with its confinement for what seemed like an eternity, but it eventually persevered and broke free. The little green face emerged as it crawled out of its shell. It rested for a moment, then stumbled away full of joy.
Moses’ Story
Hebrews 11:27 (KJV) says “for [Moses] endured.” Moses dealt with much, being stowed away as an infant to avoid being murdered, growing up under the roof of the man who issued the order to have him killed, and when he became of age, refusing to be called Pharaoh’s son. Hebrews says that Moses “[Chose] rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25).
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible”(Hebrews 11:27). Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, putting up with their complaints and betrayal. “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29).
Moses stepped out by faith, trusting in the Lord to deliver him. Moses left everything he had ever known to lead a rebellious people to freedom, but he couldn’t have done it without God’s immense help and guidance.
But even after the threat of the Egyptian army was gone, Moses still didn’t have it easy. His own brother and sister questioned him, but he refused to back down. When Korah led a rebellion against him, Moses still stood firm and let God take care of it.
But What Does This Have to Do With Me?
Both Moses’ and the chameleon’s stories have a similar application. Moses endured all that was thrown at him, and he kept going. A baby chameleon must endure through its shell, even when it is completely sapped of strength, knowing that if it doesn’t it will die.
The TCK often deals with similar issues, though usually ones that aren’t so drastic. Sometimes we are made fun of by the people we are living around and the people from our home culture. We can’t really fit in anywhere.
When my family first moved to our new house in the bush of Uganda, we were stunned by the state of it. It was built while we were on furlough, and we moved in when we returned to the field. The house didn’t have any paint, the concrete floors were so cracked they had to be redone, and there wasn’t any water or electricity. It took three months of sleeping in tents before we got power and water. We learned much through that time, but mostly that we couldn’t have made it without relying on God through it.
I have moved twenty-five times in my life; from army bases to stone-walled, grass-roofed houses. Each time I moved was a challenge in itself, and it didn’t get any easier the more it happened. In fact, it seemed to get harder the older I got. Constantly losing friends and being unable to make more because of language barriers wasn’t easy.
Another issue TCKs face is the all too infamous question of, “Where are you from?” It is most often answered by thirty seconds of, “Uh…” I speak from experience and have settled on “everywhere” as my answer. This brought a strong sense of instability, and I felt as if I didn’t belong anywhere. I couldn’t have made it through if I hadn’t had used God as an anchor and trusted in Him.
I learned to make God my anchor by trying a few things. Keeping God in mind when making decisions, praying often, reading the Bible for over half an hour every day, and doing family devotions just as often are a few good ways to make God an anchor in your life.
Enduring Through Hardship
Moses had to rely on God to get through his hardships, and afterward, he grew through them in both his understanding and relationship with God. At first, he was afraid to step up, and he didn’t want to do what God had told him to do. But later, after he had learned much, he dealt with Korah by stepping back and letting God take care of it.
It is the same for us. We go through a tough time, a trial as the Bible calls it, but we must endure by putting our faith in God. Then, we have the glorious moment when we push through the shell and learn something valuable from it.
Sometimes we don’t learn that lesson until later, but even if we don’t know how our trials grow us, God does. As Romans 8:28–29 says, we know that everything that happens to us who believe is all part of God’s plan and it all works together for our good, which is growth in Christ.
“The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.” – Psalm 145:17–21
