Back when I was single, a day came when I thought it might be a good time to get a dog. I was living alone and thought the company would be nice. A friend of mine had just gotten a springer spaniel puppy and told me that some friends of hers who had bought her puppy's sibling had changed their mind and wanted to give away their puppy. So I jumped on the idea of a springer puppy. Once you have seen and held a springer puppy you are totally smitten by them. They are so cute and playful. I decided to name her Maggie.
When Maggie and I got home, I took her out in my back yard to let her get used to her new home. It was hilarious to sit back and watch her simply explore all of her new surroundings. The people that had lived in the house before me also had dogs. Their dogs evidently loved to dig holes. I know because I would always twist my ankle stepping in them when I mowed. Grass had grown over these holes and so you couldn't really see them unless you were looking right down at them. Maggie, being so little, would be walking along and all of a sudden disappear into one of these holes. She would pull herself together, crawl out and keep right on going. I would try to tell her, "Maggie, watch out for that hole", but being that our communication was not that good, she would march right on and fall into the very hole I had tried to warn her about. This happened several times. I found myself saying, "I warned you Maggie, that's what you get when you don't listen."
All of a sudden God spoke very quietly to me and said, "That's how I feel sometimes, I see the potholes in your life coming and try to warn you, but you keep plowing on not acknowledging the fact that I have a better vantage point than you do and can guide you around those holes if you would only let me." I stopped in my tracks, reviewed the situation and then realized I am just like that puppy. I think I know it all. But there is a Master whose ways are higher than my ways and whose thoughts are higher than my thoughts and He can help me navigate through the backyard of life safely if I will only learn to listen.
Today be willing to stop and listen and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Let His Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. God is a loving God who wants to protect and care for you. Trust Him and let Him lead.
When Maggie and I got home, I took her out in my back yard to let her get used to her new home. It was hilarious to sit back and watch her simply explore all of her new surroundings. The people that had lived in the house before me also had dogs. Their dogs evidently loved to dig holes. I know because I would always twist my ankle stepping in them when I mowed. Grass had grown over these holes and so you couldn't really see them unless you were looking right down at them. Maggie, being so little, would be walking along and all of a sudden disappear into one of these holes. She would pull herself together, crawl out and keep right on going. I would try to tell her, "Maggie, watch out for that hole", but being that our communication was not that good, she would march right on and fall into the very hole I had tried to warn her about. This happened several times. I found myself saying, "I warned you Maggie, that's what you get when you don't listen."
All of a sudden God spoke very quietly to me and said, "That's how I feel sometimes, I see the potholes in your life coming and try to warn you, but you keep plowing on not acknowledging the fact that I have a better vantage point than you do and can guide you around those holes if you would only let me." I stopped in my tracks, reviewed the situation and then realized I am just like that puppy. I think I know it all. But there is a Master whose ways are higher than my ways and whose thoughts are higher than my thoughts and He can help me navigate through the backyard of life safely if I will only learn to listen.
Today be willing to stop and listen and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Let His Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. God is a loving God who wants to protect and care for you. Trust Him and let Him lead.
1 comment:
Steve,
So true. If we would slow down and listen to God's voice we would avoid those holes in life. Then, we wouldn't have to cry for God to get us out of the hole that He never wanted us to be in in the first place.
Good words, keep it up.
Blessings,
daryl
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