Yet man is born to trouble, just as surely as sparks fly upward.” — Job 5:7
Let’s just go ahead and say it plainly—
Trouble will find you. Mmm hmmm.😐
Not because you’re cursed.
Not because you missed a prayer meeting.
Not because God blinked.
But because we live in a broken world… and sparks fly.
It’s a notion that I’ve heard plenty in my Jamaican culture. One of our famous proverbs is;
“When trouble tek yuh, pickney shut fit yuh.”
One line. Whole message.
Not to worry readers, of course I’ll translate;
English version – when trouble grabs hold of you, even a child’s little shirt will fit you.
In other words?
Trouble will humble you.
It will size you down.
Strip you back.
Deflate you.
Bring you from big talk to quiet surrender real fast.
And I’m not speaking theory. I’ve lived long enough to know that’s true.
There’s a confidence we carry when life is smooth. We plan. We execute. We manage. We advise others. We speak faith boldly. We organize, strategize, and encourage everybody else.
But let real trouble hit.
Not inconvenience.
Not mild discomfort.
I’m talking about the kind that backs you into a corner with no visible exit.
Suddenly, all the “I got this” disappears.
That’s when pickney shut fit yuh.
That’s when your options dry up.
Your strength runs thin.
Your “I can handle this” finally collapses.
And that’s one of those moments when I reach for Jesus.
Not casually.
Not politely.
Not as a checkbox on my spiritual to-do list.
But desperately.
Trouble has a way of exposing the illusion of control. It will sit you down and whisper,
“Okay… fix this.”
And that’s when you realize—you can’t.
That’s when pride loosens its grip.
That’s when independence bows.
That’s when your knees learn the floor by memory.
I’ve heard it said that some trouble is for correction. And I believe that. Not all trouble—because we live in a broken world—but some of it? Some of it is divine recalibration. Heaven’s loving nudge… or shove… back into alignment.
Some of my deepest intimacy with God did not happen on the mountaintop.
It happened in the corner.
I once listened to Baptist preacher teach about what trouble does for us—seven ways God uses it. And the more I’ve lived, the more I’ve nodded in agreement.
- Trouble reveals what we’re made of.
- Trouble humbles us.
- Trouble drives us to God.
- Trouble purifies our faith.
- Trouble teaches dependence.
- Trouble prepares us to help somebody else.
- And ultimately—trouble glorifies God.
I can testify to every single one.
Trouble has revealed where my faith was shallow.
Trouble has humbled me when success tried to inflate me.
Trouble has burned away distractions I didn’t even know were choking me.
Trouble has matured me.
Trouble has saved me from myself.
I didn’t like it.
I didn’t volunteer for it.
But I grew through it.
And here’s the part that blesses me now:
The corner wasn’t meant to crush me.
It was meant to position me.
Friends, sometimes God allows you to run out of options so you can finally run into His arms.
Because when you come out of something that should have broken you—and you’re still standing—that’s not human strength. That’s divine sustaining power.
So if sparks are flying in your life right now, don’t panic.
Yes, sparks fly upward.
Yes, trouble will come.
Yes, sometimes pickney shut will fit yuh.
But sparks don’t stay in the sky forever.
The fire refines.
The storm passes.
The lesson remains.
And when it’s over, you’ll look back and say,
“Pickney shut fit me… but God carried me.”
Remember….
The same God who allows the fire still controls the flame.
Amen!
~ Merry Melodious Melody~
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