(Note: This was a lesson I gave to my son, Joseph, on the occasion of his 10th birthday)
Sometimes, tigers come to tea. The Tiger Who Came to Tea was written and illustrated by Judith Kerr. In this book, a mother and her daughter are sitting down to tea when there is a knock on the door—a tiger. They invite the tiger in, and he eats all of their cookies, drinks all of their tea, and then goes through the house eating the rest of their food. Then, he leaves and never comes back. A tiger coming to tea is an unpleasant and unexpected event, and life is filled with them.
We all have plans and dream about how we want our lives to turn out, but sometimes those plans don’t pan out. Sometimes, our first choice doesn’t work out, or even our second, or third. So often, movies and books are focused on happy endings. A poor boy rises above his circumstances and becomes nobility, the lonely lovers meet and live happily every after, Prince Charming comes, the game is won. In life, however, sometimes the poor boy stays poor, the lonely stay lonely, prince charming never comes, and the game is lost. What do we do when these things happen in our lives? What are you going to do when a tiger comes to tea?
The Apostle Paul frequently encountered tigers. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-30, he recounts a list of the hardships he has suffered such as beatings, dangers, and shipwrecks. Through all of this, however, Paul kept on going. He didn’t seem to get discouraged and he stayed the course. His example gives us a guide for handling the tigers in our own life.
Stay Calm
In Acts 18:9-11, Paul is in the city of Corinth and is apparently afraid. He is worried about the tigers out there, but God comforts him. God tells him not to be afraid but to keep on speaking. Paul heeds this message and stays in Corinth for 18 months.
Paul teaches us to stay calm and trust God when the tiger comes. Often, what we are worried and stressed about really isn’t as bad as we think it is going to be. Staying calm is not pretending bad things aren’t happening; we don’t have to say everything’s ok. Staying calm is realizing that bad things can be endured. They aren’t the end of the world.
One way that we can learn to be calm is to imagine the bad things that could happen in our lives. Jesus told the disciples as he was sending them out that they would be sheep among wolves; they would be taken to the courts and scourged (Mathew 10:16-18). On the night before his death, he warned them they would be hated, persecuted, ostracized, and killed (John 15:18-21, 16:1-3). Notice what He says in John 16:4—“But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.” By forewarning them, Jesus prepared them. He let them imagine what would happen and also gave them certainty that their course was right because it was predicted.
We must not leave the future as vague, unexplored worries shoved to the back of our minds. We are told that persecutions will come (2 Timothy 3:12). While hopefully, it will never happen, we can think about and plan what we will do if teaching God’s Word becomes illegal, if we were imprisoned, or if the choice is given to either abandon our beliefs or die. If the worst happens, we keep teaching, start prison ministries, and die. In this life, there aren’t always happy endings. Certainly, the lives of the Apostles and other early martyrs bear this out. Ultimately, however, we know that victory is with God and His people. So, we steel our minds to stay faithful to the point of death (cf. Revelation 2:10).
No matter what happens in life, whether tragedies of health, accident, or persecution, we must find the calm assurance that everything can be endured and will ultimately work out.
Act On What You Can Control
In Acts 16:6-10, Paul wants to go into Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbids him. So he goes to Mysia and intends to go into Bithynia, but he is not permitted. So, he goes down the road to Troas. There, he is given a vision telling him where to go—Macedonia. This isn’t where he planned to go, but he obeys. Notice, this time, the tiger is God. We must realize the tiger isn’t always bad or harmful, sometimes, the tiger is good for us.
Paul teaches us to act on those things we can control. He couldn’t teach in Asia or Bythinia, but he could go to Troas, and he could teach in Macedonia. Sometimes, it feels like there is nothing in our control, but this is a false feeling. There is always something we can do: we can pray, we can talk to a friend, we can look at our options and do what we can, even if it seems useless or insignificant.
If you were to lose your right hand. Life would be difficult, but instead of moping about it, you can learn to use a prosthetic limb and train to use your other hand. If you were to lose your voice, you can learn sign language. People have overcome all kinds of physical handicaps and disabilities. It isn’t pleasant. It isn’t ideal. But it can be done.
Allow God to Use You
Paul teaches us to allow God to use our tigers. Only God knows the future. Who knows what would have happened if Paul had gone to Asia? We don’t really know all we know is God didn’t want him to go to this region, perhaps it would have been detrimental to Paul; maybe someone else was handling that region, and Paul wasn’t needed, we don’t really know. What we do know, however, is the great success he had in Macedonia. To Paul, he was going to allow God to use him wherever he was regardless of his own personal plans.
Do Not Give Up
In Romans 15:22-29, Paul discusses his plans to visit the Church in Rome. He is going to go to Jerusalem, then he is going to visit them on his way to Spain. However, this isn’t exactly what happens. Shortly after he arrives in Jerusalem, Paul is arrested. He will be transferred to the city of Caesarea and spend 2 years there under Felix. When Festus takes over, Paul is sent to Rome, but it is around a year before he arrives in Rome due to traveling, shipwreck, and other issues. Then, he will spend about 2 years imprisoned in Rome. After this time, we have little Biblical information as to what happened to Paul. Tradition, however, says that he was set free and went about preaching for five years until he was arrested again. During this time, tradition says he did make it to Spain.
For Paul, a change of plans didn’t mean a withdrawal from serving God. He didn’t pout or withdraw from service or from others. He rolled with the changes, went where God led him, and served God the best he could in any situation. We need to do the same.
Humble Yourself and Lean On God
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul prays for a thorn in his flesh to be removed. God tells him no. Instead, Paul needed to realize that God’s grace and power were enough. Paul’s tiger in the flesh kept him from exalting himself. It kept him humble. It taught him to lean on God’s strength. Weaknesses are a reminder of why we need God. When a tiger comes to tea, we need to lean on Him.
When a Tiger comes to tea, I will. . .
- stay calm.
- act on those things I can control.
- not pout or withdraw.
- allow God to use my circumstances
- lean on His Strength in my weakness
Tigers come to tea, but it isn’t the end of the world. Tigers will change our plans, but they may also open up new opportunities. Tigers may prevent us from getting what we want, but they force us to humble ourselves and lean on Him. Tigers are a part of life, the only question is how I will handle them.
We need to open ourselves to God’s plans. It’s not bad to have our own plans and desires, but if they don’t pan out, we still need to serve God.
By Jeremy Sprouse
Jeremy has been married to Erynn since August 1999. They are blessed with six children: Jaden, Isaiah, Isaac, Ean, Joseph, and Evelyn. Jeremy preaches for the Patrick St. church of Christ in Dublin, TX and is the author of To Train Up a Knight.
Knights of The Father 