This is perhaps the most precious lesson I learned from my dogs that I will share. I am frequently reminded of this lesson but I will always remember the first time I learned this lesson through an "aha" moment.
In 2003 I lived in the Miami area....oh that was a taste of heaven! : > I would walk my dogs around this lake that was essentially in my back yard. There was a path around the entire lake and after the sun would set, providing us with a tad cooler temperatures, I would put the leashes on my dogs and off we would go for our walk around the lake.
If you have spent any time with my dogs you would see that my dogs have very different personalities. I have one dog that has no problem keeping pace with me. She doesn't have a desire to run ahead and she doesn't have a desire to lag behind. She loves to stay pace with me. However......I have another dog who is just the opposite! She always wants to be about 20 feet in front of me. She seems oblivious to the collar around her neck and the leash that is attached to it. This leash is only about a 5ft leash. She can go no farther than that for my hand has a tight grip on the leash and I maintain control of that leash during the entire walk.
Well, as you can probably imagine, my dogs come to the end of their walk, one dog energized, and the other dog, well she looks like she just finished the Boston Marathon! Why? One dog didn't try to race ahead or lag behind. She understood her limitations of the leash and she was content keeping pace with her master. My other dog, however, she is worn out and ready for a long nap. Why? She was not content with the limitations the leash had placed on her. She desired to go beyond.....even though her master is stronger and kept control of the leash, she just kept trying and trying to get ahead. A little tug on the leash to remind her of her limits was to no avail. She felt the little choke, coughed a little and was at it again, striving to get ahead.
Let's look at this and what the Lord said to me that day. Both dogs with the same master in control of the leash, walking the same trail....the dogs are the same age and just about the same size. At the end of the walk one dog is energized, the other one is exhausted. Why? One was content keeping pace with the master, the other one was not. This was a "aha" moment for me.
I am on the path of life that has been laid out by my Master. The gracious thing about my Master is that He has a leash on me for my own good. I keep a leash on my dogs for their safety, not mine. Without that leash, they risk getting killed- they don't understand cars and how running out in the street can be lethal to them! God loves me enough to keep a leash on me. He knows I don't fully understand everything and I can get myself in trouble if I am left to run as I please.
I must learn contentment within the limitations of the leash and I must be content to keep pace with my Master. I can try to get ahead of my Master but He is stronger than I and He is in control of the leash. He has a plan for my life and within that plan is a timing in which His plan for me will be carried out. If I try to speed it up, I will not get ahead and will only get exhausted.
At the end of the walk, I have one dog that is content and one dog that is exhausted. One enjoyed her walk and the other one is ready for a long nap........the Lord spoke clearly to me here.
He longs for me to enjoy my walk with Him. He has provided the means by which I can enjoy my walk. He has a leash on me that gives me some freedom but also provides me with safety. He is with me on the walk, leading the way, holding the leash. He never leads at a pace that I can't keep up with. Although He may lead me in paths that seem a little scary or a little tough, He is there, He is leading, He is protecting me.
I don't want to come to the end of my walk with the Lord exhausted and joyless. At the end of the day or at the end of my life, I want to look back with joy on my walk with the Lord. Essentially it is up to me. If I am willing to keep pace with the Master then I will experience joy. If I spend my time fighting my Master all along the way, trying to get ahead, trying to go places I don't belong, then I will come to the end of my walk exhausted, and the level of my joy will be low, possibly unmeasurable.
How are you doing in your walk? How am I doing? I will be quite transparent with you. I am at a place in my life right now where I would like to run ahead of where God has me right now. Yet, God has a hold of the leash and He is not letting me get ahead. Why? As hard as this is for me to say, God has set my pace through this particular trial. I can try to rush through it but He is holding the leash and I will only add to my exhaustion when I try to fight against the leash. I am reminded that I must keep pace with the Master- He always leads us THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, never leaving us there.
Exhausted? Perhaps it's because you're fighting to get ahead of your Master. May we walk each day singing and more importantly believing that "It is well with my soul". The joy of the Lord is our strength. We must know that God desires we walk the path He has laid out before us with joy. Count it all joy! Pray for me....I will be praying for you.
To God be the glory!
