Of Dogs and Directions…..
Recently our very old dog has begun the slow process of
death, and because I fear for her safety and well-being I have directed her up
onto our porch during the night.
She does not like this one bit and fights me every step of the way.
After freeing her from the confines of the deck this morning
I went out to feed her, which is back up on the deck. I was not trying to
confine her in this time but simply trying to give her nourishment. Instead of trusting that I had some
good food for her she ran away from me in fear that I was going to lock her in
again up on our deck.
My dogs actions should lead me to let her just suffer in her
own stupidity however, my compassion and love for this dog has been aroused and
I cannot let her suffer in this way. I went to her, and coaxed her and did not
relent until I had brought her up to eat.
And on top of this, I no longer give her just dry dog food but I am now
feeding her choice rice and egg every morning and evening. However, she does not want to trust me
and follow me to where I am providing good food for her. I do everything in my power to get her
to come, I go to her, I gently nudge her to follow but she is determined in her
old age to stubbornly refuse my direction, guidance and feeding and chooses to go
her own way.
It suddenly dawned on me I am just like this with God.
I too am in a slow process of death….death to my "self"……..
And because God is compassionate and is interested in my well being He has recently taken me to a place I have not wanted to go... to Kerith Ravine (which means failure) as spoken of in I Kings 17 in which God takes Elijah to the Kerith Ravine to hide and to drink from the brook and be fed by the ravens. In my death process He has taken me here to teach me to depend on Him and Him alone just as he did for Elijah.
And because God is compassionate and is interested in my well being He has recently taken me to a place I have not wanted to go... to Kerith Ravine (which means failure) as spoken of in I Kings 17 in which God takes Elijah to the Kerith Ravine to hide and to drink from the brook and be fed by the ravens. In my death process He has taken me here to teach me to depend on Him and Him alone just as he did for Elijah.
And in my old age I like my dog have pulled away, shied
away, stubbornly refused to go to this place of provision and compassion and
caring because I am not trusting the one who is leading me to provide good
things for me.
You see It all began with a dream and a kiss…..not a kiss with the world
but a kiss to the Son….
Months ago I had a dream in which I was kissing my boss. Now before you get creaped out, because that’s what I was at first, let me explain what God said to me about this dream. It was not the woman I was kissing but what she represented which was my job as a physical therapist, my paycheck, my self sufficiency to provide for us. God said to me, do not betray me with a kiss…a kiss to this world and what you can do in it. And to confirm this God brought me to two verses which spoke of this very thing:
Not being one who completely believes in my ability to understand dreams from God yet, I also went before God as Gideon did in Judges 6 in which:
Months ago I had a dream in which I was kissing my boss. Now before you get creaped out, because that’s what I was at first, let me explain what God said to me about this dream. It was not the woman I was kissing but what she represented which was my job as a physical therapist, my paycheck, my self sufficiency to provide for us. God said to me, do not betray me with a kiss…a kiss to this world and what you can do in it. And to confirm this God brought me to two verses which spoke of this very thing:
Kiss the Son, lest
he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a
little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him.
(Psa 2:12 KJV)
Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." (Mat 26:48 NIV)
Not being one who completely believes in my ability to understand dreams from God yet, I also went before God as Gideon did in Judges 6 in which:
Gideon replied, "If now I have
found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.
Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before
you." And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return." (Jdg
6:17-18 NIV)
So…offering a sacrifice of praise I said to God if am I really
hearing you in this thing give me a sign. The day I did this my boss came to me
at the end of the day out of the blue in casual conversation and asked if she
could flex my hours to zero….Ok now I was beginning to listen…..
Beginning is the key operative word here….Have you ever been in this place in your life where God is telling you to obey his directions in your job as he did with me or your marriage or with your kids, your aging parents, or with your friends but due to fear, lack of trust, doubt you try to ignore His words and carry on your merry way?
Me too. Fortunately God does not relent until He has it all….and in our slow process of death to "self" God in His compassion and love keeps speaking, tugging at us, gently nudging us to follow Him……just as I did with my old dog.
My story does not end here. Just as I did not give up on my dog God does not give up on us.
Check out the next post for the rest of the story……..
Me too. Fortunately God does not relent until He has it all….and in our slow process of death to "self" God in His compassion and love keeps speaking, tugging at us, gently nudging us to follow Him……just as I did with my old dog.
My story does not end here. Just as I did not give up on my dog God does not give up on us.
Check out the next post for the rest of the story……..
Loving on you,
