Sunday, March 6, 2011

Often God speaks to us in ways we do not expect!

We can read the Old Testament and learn of how God spoke to His servants in that day.  We can read the New Testament and learn how God spoke in New Testament times- In many ways different than how He spoke in the Old Testament.

We can  listen to testimony of our Christian brothers and sisters and how they heard from God.-  But we cannot predict God, meaning how he spoke to others may or may not be the same way He will speak to you and me.  Therefore we must have our ears open to God, not a method or an other's testimony- doing so may cause us to miss what He is telling us.

I want to talk a moment about a way God has repeatedly spoken to me- it is not in the way I expected.  There was a time in the 1990's when I spent a lot of time on the road.  I was single at the time and my frequent traveling did not allow me allow me to develop close relationships with people.  Quite often I came home to an empty quiet apartment.  This season I speak of taught me how to enjoy quietness and solitude.  At the same time, I did experience loneliness.

I am such a lover of dogs- therefore, in 1999, I decided that I would get a dog to love on and have to come home to.  Well I ended up with 2 dogs - It wasn't what I planned but when I held 1 puppy from the 2 left in the litter, the other one began to whimper and when I picked up the whimpering one the other one began to whimper,  They succeeded in capturing my heart and I brought home 2 precious puppies.

What has transpired in these 11 years with these dogs was not what I expected.  I was looking for companionship- but God gave me more than companionship.  Through the years these dogs have been my disciplers, and God has taught me many lessons of His love, His character and His rebuke at times- all this using 2 little dogs.  I want to take time in this and following blogs to just share the lessons God has taught me.

1.) Dependence on my Master- One thing that will never change is that my dogs are dependent on me.  I have to feed them- they can't cook or grab a snack from the pantry.  If I don't give them water they will not get any for they cannot turn the faucets on and fill their own bowl.

 Children are dependent on their parents for a time- but sooner or later they grow up and they no longer need us to cook for them or pour drinks for them, they are independent.  However, dogs are unique in that as they age they never gain that independence.  I will always have to feed them, I will always have to supply them with water to drink.  They are dependent upon me and they understand that, and not only do they understand it, they  are content with this dependence.

God showed me (and reminds me so often) that I am dependent on my Master, Father God. I must look to Him to be fed by the Word of God, I must look to Him to satisfy my thirst through His springs of living water. I have no other place to go- for there is no other name by which I can be saved.

Just like my precious dogs, I can never expect to become independent in this area.  I will not "grow up" and find that I can now feed myself.  Until the day He calls me home, I will be dependent on Him to meet my needs.

There have been times that I have accidentally left a bag of treats within their reach and I will come home from work only to find a trail of shredded wrapping.  I soon learn that my dogs have decided to take things into their own hands (or paws!) and they have shredded the bag with their teeth and eaten every treat  that was in that bag! Ultimately they did get fed, but they make a mess in the process.  Why?  They did not wait for their Master to give them food.

You and I belong to a Master, a Heavenly Father who is willing and desiring to feed us.  In fact, it was Jesus who said "man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."

We have a Master who longs to satisfy our thirst- In fact, It is our Master who gave the invitation "Everyone that is thirsty,come!  It is our Master who said I will pour water on him who is thirsty.

We can choose to satisfy our hunger and thirst on our own- kind of a "self serve" life- God will not force Himself or His ways upon us.  He will let us go our way- in order that we may see that when we attempt to serve ourselves, apart from Him, we (much like my dogs) will make a mess of things.  But, praise God, He is always willing to accept us back with loving arms and teach us more on what it means to be dependent on our Master.  He never makes a mess and He never lets us starve.  He has a perfect track record!

Who is feeding you?  In your hunger and in your thirst, turn to the only One who can truly satisfy your needs. What a timely post the Lord placed on my heart tonight- He knows that right now I need to just trust and depend on Him and be content with where He has me at this time,

To God be the glory!