November 16th, 2023
Thursday, November 16th
A Problem We All Have
By: Chrissy Cooney
My dog Lilo has a problem.
She runs at cars. Not with them, not from them, but full force straight AT them. She does this on leash, and we’re able to keep her in check; but she has also run straight out the front door, off-leash, and darted for the roadway. This has brought me to a point of fearful tears on more than one occasion while chasing her around the neighborhood.
Maybe it’s the Labrador in her that wants to chase? Oh how I wish she could understand the danger. I wish she could understand my language and reasoning when I’m hollering after her to come back to the safe place by my side. If only our last Lab, Stitch, could sit her down and share the wisdom of advanced age. If dogs could talk that way, I am sure that Stitch would show her the scars from the tire mark that ran across her body and tell her the miracle story of surviving being fully run over by a big, shiny, fun-to-chase thing. They could talk about the time it took to heal and how that horrible day could have been avoided.
As humans, we have problems like this too.
We also chase shiny things that are not meant for us and often we stay oblivious to the fact that they hold danger. God’s Word warns us in Jeremiah 17:9, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.Who really knows how bad it is?” Like Lilo’s desire to chase, following our hearts can lead us straight into sin and danger. The “want-to” to sin inside of us often presents as a natural desire, a good idea, a fun or even smart thing to do. It just feels so right, how can it be wrong? Oh how easily we can be deceived and blinded by our own desires.
So how do we avoid acting like my foolish dog running after things that can hurt us spiritually, physically, and emotionally? Proverbs 28:26 says, “Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.”
Will you pray this prayer with me?
Heavenly Father, help me not to be wise in my own eyes. Please surround me with wise counsel who will provide sound advice and point me back to Your Word when they see me following my heart. Lord, I want to chase the desires of YOUR heart, not my own. Please help me to walk in the humility and openness necessary to receive Wisdom and become aware of my blind spots. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray.
A Problem We All Have
By: Chrissy Cooney
My dog Lilo has a problem.
She runs at cars. Not with them, not from them, but full force straight AT them. She does this on leash, and we’re able to keep her in check; but she has also run straight out the front door, off-leash, and darted for the roadway. This has brought me to a point of fearful tears on more than one occasion while chasing her around the neighborhood.
Maybe it’s the Labrador in her that wants to chase? Oh how I wish she could understand the danger. I wish she could understand my language and reasoning when I’m hollering after her to come back to the safe place by my side. If only our last Lab, Stitch, could sit her down and share the wisdom of advanced age. If dogs could talk that way, I am sure that Stitch would show her the scars from the tire mark that ran across her body and tell her the miracle story of surviving being fully run over by a big, shiny, fun-to-chase thing. They could talk about the time it took to heal and how that horrible day could have been avoided.
As humans, we have problems like this too.
We also chase shiny things that are not meant for us and often we stay oblivious to the fact that they hold danger. God’s Word warns us in Jeremiah 17:9, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.Who really knows how bad it is?” Like Lilo’s desire to chase, following our hearts can lead us straight into sin and danger. The “want-to” to sin inside of us often presents as a natural desire, a good idea, a fun or even smart thing to do. It just feels so right, how can it be wrong? Oh how easily we can be deceived and blinded by our own desires.
So how do we avoid acting like my foolish dog running after things that can hurt us spiritually, physically, and emotionally? Proverbs 28:26 says, “Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.”
Will you pray this prayer with me?
Heavenly Father, help me not to be wise in my own eyes. Please surround me with wise counsel who will provide sound advice and point me back to Your Word when they see me following my heart. Lord, I want to chase the desires of YOUR heart, not my own. Please help me to walk in the humility and openness necessary to receive Wisdom and become aware of my blind spots. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray.
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