Let Us Not Become Weary

Have you ever had the experience when you don't hear from a friend for a while and you start freaking out about it? You may think, "Did I do something wrong? Is she mad at me? I wonder if he  is okay? Maybe my friend got in a car accident...what if she died?!?"

As funny as that may be, you know it's true. Today's culture has gotten us accustomed to instant gratification. We live in a world where messages can be sent and received within a few seconds. Because of this mindset we will literally jump to the assumption that our friends have died if they don't respond to a text message within a certain time frame. I was thinking about this recently because I realize that this mindset of needing to be instantly gratified can easily affect other aspects of my life.

I can be so impatient, especially if things aren't going the way I had hoped. However, something happened last week that helped me to see the importance of not becoming weary.

A few posts ago I shared a testimony about Melissa, the woman that works at the Salvation Army. Things looked like it was absolutely
perfect. She was all set to come to the Revelation Seminar. She even came to the opening night and LOVED it. However, things seemed to go south.

This time of year is extremely busy for the Salvation Army because of Angel Tree and the Kettle Ringers, all of which Melissa happens to be in charge of. Unfortunately because of this, she wasn't able to make it to any of the other nights of the seminar. I'd stop by her work place where I usually met up with her and I always seemed to miss her. I kept praying for her and pleading with the Lord for her to come out to the meetings. At that moment, my prayers seemed to go unanswered.

Three weeks later, after the Revelation Seminar had completed, I decided to stop by the Salvation Army once more. This time Melissa was there. Melissa invited me into her office and our friendship picked up exactly where it left off. She updated me with things going on in her life and how crazy things had been. I told her how I missed seeing her and she responded, "I know I've missed you too and I was so bummed that I wasn't able to make it out to that seminar. But I have been watching them online."

"You've been watching them online?" I thought to myself. Instantly I felt rebuked for ever questioning and doubting whether God had this situation in His control. We talked about what she was learning from the videos and she expressed how she really liked how John Bradshaw just showed everything from the Bible.

For some reason, I wasn't able to go down to the Salvation Army at the usual day and time that I normally go. It's strange because normally I make sure I get down this but this time it was as if something was stopping me from going. My phone rang that afternoon and to my surprise it was Melissa.

When I answered the phone, Melissa started saying, "Hey girl. I was just thinking about you. I was just wondering what you were up to. I realize how much of a positive influence you are to me and I just really like being around you."

We talked for a bit and then she said something that I wasn't expecting. Melissa continued saying, "You know, I was thinking. It's been really busy around here and I was thinking maybe you could just come over to my house and we could study the Bible there."

I literally couldn't believe what I had just heard. I had been trying to get Melissa to do Bible studies with me since I met her in the summer. However, the she never wanted Bible studies for herself. Yet now in this time where I felt like nothing was happening, God was really working on her heart. I just couldn't see it.

 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Galatians 6:9

Puppy Devotional

I’ve never really been a dog person. I like the idea of dogs. I’m familiar with the phrase “dogs are man’s best friend” but never comprehended it. There’s simply one reason for that, I’ve always owned cats. Cats are great. They’re super low maintenance. They do their business in a box. They can be playful but most of the time they’re super chill and just want to sleep. 

Well this weekend I feel like the Lord decided to soften my heart by having me dog sit (or more like dogs sit). This weekend I’m watching four dogs for two of my friends. There’s Motica, the needy white poodle that looks and acts like an old lady. Percy, Motica’s daughter, the black poodle who looks completely innocent and adorable but is really the biggest trouble maker. There’s Lucy, the black and white chihuahua, she’s a hyper active puppy that is the most adorable when she’s sleepy and cuddly. And then there’s Cleo, who’s bread is a mixture of things to equal a white fluff ball with little black patches.

I realized a couple things just from the first night of watching them. They either always have to go to the bathroom, or they’re hungry (even if they’re not hungry, they just want food). I literally told the Lord in my mind, this must be what it’s like to have kids. 

Normally the first thing I do in the morning is grab my Bible and just start reading. But this morning I didn’t, as soon as I got up, I took the dogs outside so they could use the bathroom, and then I got to read. Even while I was trying to read I was constantly getting interrupted by the puppies. Percy just wanted to stare out the window downstairs and bark at leaves. Cleo wanted to chew on my some electrical wires so I had to put her in the crate. Motica couldn’t jump on the bed and wanted me to drop my hand off the side so I could pet her while she laid on the floor. And Lucy just wanted to be cuddled. 

I was typing out what I was learning in my devos when Percy decided to bark at a sketchy looking leaf and I noticed a chain reaction with the dogs. Motica barked once or twice but since she was in the room with me, she calmed down. Cleo was in her confined area and wasn’t affected. And Lucy who was fast asleep on my lap, didn’t budge or make a sound. 

You may be wondering, why in the world am I telling you this? Well it’s because God used it to add to my devos. This morning I was learning about how Christ is the Good Shepherd. In fact that’s what I was writing about when Lucy was cuddling with me. 

I was thinking about how the dogs were reacting in relation of where they were to me. Percy, the instigator, was downstairs, no where near me. She was the very dog that started barking. Motica barked but once she saw that I wasn’t concerned, she stopped. Meanwhile Lucy and Cleo were both in a safe place (either the crate where I put Cleo because it would be the safest for her or on my lap where Lucy was sleeping). The two dogs that were in a safe place, were completely unaffected. 

As one of Christ’s sheep, that made me think about how I respond to situations. Am I the very one creating the dangerous situation in my head? Do I react to the situation and then simmer down when I realize that the One in charge isn’t concerned? Or am I completely at peace because I know I’m in a safe place?

This made me think more about Psalm 23. As I read this Psalm I tried to visualize where the Shepherd is compared to where the sheep is. In verses 2-3, it uses phrases such as “He leads me.” That gave me the picture of the Shepherd in front of His sheep. Then in verse four when the sheep is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, the sheep doesn’t fear evil because the Shepherd is “with” the sheep. In verse five, the Shepherd is anointing the sheep with oil which gives me the imagery that the Shepherd is above the sheep. And lastly, in verse six, it says that “goodness and mercy shall ‘follow’ me.” Now the Shepherd is behind the sheep. It seems to me that the Shepherd position to the sheep depends on what is going on. It’s like the Shepherd knows exactly where He needs to be and will position Himself accordingly. 

The second thing I thought of was the hireling that the Bible mentions. In John 10, it talks about how no one will ever care for the sheep as much as the shepherd. In fact if the hireling sees danger, the hireling will run away and leave the sheep stranded to die. I literally asked God, “why do you even hire these guys?” 

Then He got me thinking. 

God: Why are you dog sitting right now? 

Me: Because my friends are visiting their parents in Florida.

God: Okay, so you’re watching them because they physically can’t be there. But you don’t like dogs. Why did you agree to dog sit?

Me: Well because I love my friends, but I still don’t know why they trusted me to watch their dogs?

God: You just answered your own question. They trust you because you love them. You may not care for the dogs as much as you could, but you love their owners. That’s the same thing with Me. The only hirelings that I trust, are the ones that love Me.