For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways", declares the Lord. "As the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." ~ Isaiah 55:8-9
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. ~ Proverbs 14:12
God used Angel again today to teach me another lesson about my relationship with Him.
Angel and I went for our morning walk.
When we come back home I have to enter the gate code on a key pad to open the gate and get back on the property. The key pad is all the way on the left but the gate opens all the way on the right.
Angel is a smart cookie and she knows the gate opens on the right so every day she heads toward the right side. Makes perfect sense, except I have to go all the way to the left first to enter the gate code so the gate will actually open.
But Angel is a dog (please DO NOT tell her I said that! She would be devastated! LOL!) and she has no clue why we have to walk to the left first before we go to the right. She always fusses at me on the leash and wants to pull to the right.
To Angel, it looks ridiculous. It's a waste of time. "Why is Mom dragging me over to the left to make me just sit there for an extra 3 seconds and then walking me over to the right?" All Angel cares about is that the gate opens. She knows I will unhook her leash and she can take a few free laps around the property before we go inside for water. That's all she understands and all she cares about.
Well, today, she didn't fight me. She actually walked over to the key pad with me and waited while I entered the code....like a well-trained, obedient little dog! Will wonders never cease?!
I was so pleased. I said the her, "Good girl, Angel! See, sometimes you just have to follow along with the steps. Even if you don't understand why we are doing something, I do understand it and have a reason for it." As soon as the words left my mouth I heard a voice deep within me say, "And why can't you be that way with Me more, when I make you take detours or steps you don't understand?"
Sigh! Yup, you got me there, God. I am totally guilty of that. I think a lot of us are, especially in today's society where instant gratification has practically become a constitutionally protected right.
Not many people like to wait. And not many people like to take steps that THEY don't understand or feel are necessary. How many of us wish God would just follow OUR plan for our life, that WE perfectly designed. Wouldn't it be so much easier? Don't worry, God. I took care of it already for You. Oh, and by the way, can you move over a little bit, I need more room on my side of the Throne.
Today, God reminded me that, no, it would not be better; not for the growth of my character or the deepening of my personal relationship with Him. How many times have I told God that I loved Him in the morning and then fussed at Him during the day over the fact that He made me walk all the way to the left and wait an extra 3 seconds at the key pad when I wanted to go directly to the right and have Him open the gate immediately?
No. The best thing would be to learn to rest contentedly in the waiting, with God, during those extra 3 seconds at the key pad. I say waiting with God because He is always there with me in the waiting, in the detour, to comfort and reassure me. Even if He doesn't explain to me why I am waiting, He will always be with me and comfort me in the waiting.
Waiting on God when we don't understand "why" doesn't have to be the torturous time that we often make it out to be. We have the ability to transform those periods into times of great personal growth, joy and blessing. If we stay close to Him, He will comfort us and our relationship with Him will become enriched. Perhaps that's why He makes us wait in the first place.
Thanks, Angel, for being the vessel God used to teach your mom something today. I appreciate you.
Love and puppy kisses,
Angel's Mom (a.ka. Susan)
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