I took our golden retriever, Daisy, for a walk today and thought I would share some of the thoughts the Holy Spirit gave me on that walk. Daisy is still a pup and I’m working on training her. I really am not that great of a dog trainer. Lol! But as I was working with her I began to think about the following:
I could give Daisy so much more freedom if she would just obey me. Instead, she is on a short leash so that I can work with her and encourage her obedience. She loves the treats but always wants to chase squirrels. ?
Daisy panting after her run!
Then this occurred to me:
How many times does God have to put us on a leash because we don’t obey and trust Him completely? When we could be beside Him totally free? If we believe and trust Him the Scripture says we are His friends. Abraham was a friend of God because he believed God and obeyed him.
If we love Him, Jesus said we will obey Him.
How many times are we kept from our destiny because of our own selves? Because we are trying to chase squirrels and Jesus has to leash us to train us into obedience so we can go where He sends us.
Personally, I would love to let Daisy run and enjoy the neighborhood if I knew that she wasn’t going to jump on the neighbor kids, or chew something up in the house, or if I knew she would come as soon as I called. But because she does none of those things, she is kept on a leash and I can only allow her to run around in our house when I can keep a close eye on her and the toys are all cleaned up on the floor.
I feel bad for her. Truly, I do. If only she understood the freedom that would come with ultimate obedience…
She wants so badly to be a part of life with us, and yet, so many times I have to separate her from what’s going on because she can’t behave.
How many times are we missing the experience of home and fellowship because we aren’t honoring those around us and so the Lord can’t give us the freedom we want to connect us fully to that warmth?
In His love He disciplines us.
In our loneliness He teaches us.
I know that if I let Daisy run wild and chew toys she is at risk of hurting her stomach or a child, and then that will damage her more than confining her to a leash.
So my take on all this:
Let’s trust the Lord more, and realize that if He has us on a life-leash then He must be teaching us something or protecting us from something. There is freedom in Christ, but it takes our full surrender to experience all of the freedom He has for us!!! Maybe He will take us off the leash and release us into destiny if we start listening better!!!! Here’s to learning to listen and obey the voice of God so we can experience ultimate freedom in Him!
Leave a Reply