In our neighborhood, there is a very big white dog. The dog’s owner passed away many, many months ago, and his children took the dog home to adopt as their own. The only problem is that every day when they let the dog out to run in their field, the big, furry beauty trots on down the country road back to its former home.
Disappointed that its former best friend is not there, the doggy loyally lumbers down to the end of driveway and plops down to watch up the street for his best friend’s anticipated arrival. Of course, this never happens. Day after day of devoted vigil, the mammoth, loyal creature repeats this process.
After work, the owner’s children faithfully pick up the disappointed and reluctant canine. They take him back to their home to spend the night, get some fresh food and water, and wait through the long and lonely night, dreaming hopefully for a better tomorrow.
Everyone in our neighborhood knows the story of this faithful pooch, and watches the drama unfold with their own attitude and opinion about this grim, silent watch. The loyalty, love and dedication of this simple creature – who is motivated by nothing more than affection and friendship – impacts all of our lives.
How many of us can say that we feel this same dedicated love and loyalty for the Savior of our soul? How many minutes do we wait on the Lord each day to come and meet with us in a personal fellowship and unity? Do we long for His interaction like this faithful animal yearns for the presence of his former owner?
What would motivate us to wait so tirelessly and faithfully for the presence of God to turn into the “driveway” of our life? Does our love and loyalty for Him permeate every second of our day to the point of going the extra mile to the last place we encountered the joy of His all-consuming attention?
This mere canine exhibits the type of dedication and commitment to his lord and master that I want to have for our King of kings and Lord of lords. I want my dedication to consume me with this same passion and focus that this big, lumbering pooch displays for his deceased owner.
Prayer:
Father God, the hopelessness of this daily ritual breaks our hearts. We desperately desire to do something to alleviate the obvious suffering of this gentle giant. I am sure many of us have attempted to pray about a plan that would fill the void in this canine’s current existence.
We want his example to inspire us to increase our commitment and dedication to You. Show us Your path for us; teach us Your ways; see if there is any wicked motive in us, and lead us into Your eternal presence (Psalm 139:24). Since we live to lift up our soul to You, please deliver us, teach us to do Your will, and give us Your wisdom and power (Psalm 143:10-11). We want to live, move and have our entire being in You (Acts 17:28). We bask in Your never-ending love for each of us individually.
Thought for the Day:
The Lord is our portion, and we hope only in Him; in fact, each day that we spend in His courts is better than a thousand that we could spend in any other place; He is our stronghold, our delivered, our fortress, our safe place, and the source of our strength and joy both now and forever.
- Psalm 18:2, 84:10, 144:2
