– 2 Chronicles 15:5
No Dogs Allowed
Do you ever feel like the "Dogs" of this world are snapping at your heels? Just about to take a big bite right out of your fleeing behind? I don't know if you've ever been chased down by a dog – and worst yet, bitten when he caught you – but I have, and I can tell you it's as scary and painful as it sounds.
When I was a kid, my cousins and I were walking to a local park when as we passed a certain house, a big German Shepherd came rushing out of the back yard and with snarling, barking, and baring fangs, he chased me down the street and proceeded to take a big, aggressive bite right out of my skinny, 10-year-old backside! It was one of those slow-motion, quicksand, lead-footed, surreal experiences that nightmares are made of, and while it really only lasted about 10 seconds or so (those German Shepherds are FAST!), it seemed like the nightmare would never end. I remember the dog's owners yelling "Don't Run! Don't Run! He won't chase you if you don't run!" But at the time, in MY mind, all I could hear was "Run! Run! He'll bite you . . . R-U-U-U-N!" As I think back on that childhood "experience," I can laugh now . . . but at the time it was crazy and very traumatic.
Doesn't life seem to be just like that experience sometimes? We're strolling along, worry- and care-free, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, circumstances come barreling at you like a big, mangy dog! And no matter how much you try to get ahead, that dog keeps coming at you – gnarling, growling, barking, and foaming at-the-mouth – just inches away from tearing a big chunk of flesh right out of you. And while we are doing our best to run, things just seem to slow way down, and even though we're furiously pumping our arms and legs as hard and as fast as they can go, that dog just keeps getting closer, and bigger, and meaner, and nastier . . . to the point that you can feel its hot, stinky breath on the back of your neck. No matter how hard you try to escape the inevitable, you know the bite is coming, and you just wish the darn thing would go ahead and bite you and get it over with, but the chase continues, wearing you down, tiring you out, leaving you feeling so helpless, and scared, and so bitterly, and utterly exposed. The nightmare just goes on, and on, and on.
I'm here to tell you today that while we all will go through times like these, we have a Savior in Jesus, who will heal that dog bite and make us whole again. We have the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to forgive and the wisdom to know how to avoid the dog altogether the next time he comes sniffing around. We have a God who will take the horror of that experience, and turn it into a Victory and a life testimony. We have the choice to run, and run, and keep running from the dog, or to face the dog head on, taking all its fury with the Strength, and the Grace, and the Peace of Christ, never to be terrified again because of His Saving Love.
So stop running. Make the choice today to stand. And doing all to stand, stand firm on the Word of God. Put on the full armor that God has provided as outlined in Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 18, and be STRONG in the Mighty Power of our Lord. Put up the No Dogs Allowed sign and let everyone know that even though life rages on around us, Our God has delivered us from ALL things and no dog in this world can ever tear that away from us.
Prayer
Father, thank You for Your Grace and Your Forgiveness. Thank You for giving us the ability to withstand the pain and the horrors of life, and to be able to forgive with the Love that You used to forgive us. Thank You for equipping us with Your armor so that no dog can ever intimidate, harass, or cause fear in us because You are our focus, our Joy, our Love, and our LIfe. You are God . . . our God!
Have a Blessed day everyone!
– Richard
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