The
LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek
Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him,
He will forsake you.
II
Chronicles 15:2b
Have I
told you about my dog Frankfort who has been one of my
best teachers lately? He is a miniature dachshund with
short red hair and big brown eyes. I grew up with a
variety of pets, everything from turtles to guinea
pigs. We even had a little dog once. I am glad for the
company that they offered to me as a child but none of
them were like Frankie. They were my pets, but he is
my friend.
As I
said, I have been learning from my dog lately and want
to share one important concept with you. Wherever I
am, I find that Frankie is right at my feet. Sometimes
he is even lying on top of my feet. He follows me all
day long and often times most of the night. With such
short little legs it is a wonder that he does not fall
over from fatigue. Even in my crippled state he puts a
few miles on every day. He is what I would call
"a faithful friend."
When I
am on the couch resting Frankie gets up and scratches
at my shoulder because he wants to sneak in behind me
and sleep so closely that at times I fear I will
squash him. Once he gets settled I make adjustments to
be as close to him as possible without doing damage
because it feels good to be so loved.
I was
thinking just the other day, how much greater our
relationship with God would be if we were as faithful
to Him as my dog is to me. We follow Him closely at
times but at other times when we do not like where He
is going we back off and go our own way. We often seek
Him only for what He can give us. He would have us to
seek Him just to be in His presence…sitting or
laying prostrate at His holy feet.
If
Frankie only came to me when he wanted food or to play
with his pull toy I would not consider him to be my
friend. He would be my dog and I would have to provide
for him still but would not be able to enjoy his love
or even his presence.
When
we seek God only for what He can do for us then we are
not being true seekers of God. We are being seekers of
a material possession or some other thing. God cannot
enjoy us as His faithful children when that is the
tone of our relationship with Him. Oh how He longs for
us to SEEK HIM.
Sometimes
that kind of seeking takes time and effort on our
part. Occasionally I will go somewhere and Frankie
will not be able to see me. He will look in all the
familiar spots and then go from room to room until he
finds me. He seeks after me just to be with me. I
believe God desires for us to do the same in our
relationship with Him. When we cannot find Him or see
His workings in our lives it is more than likely that
we have not sought Him, as we should, for His promise
is that when we seek Him we WILL find Him. He will be
there just like He is now, patiently waiting for us.
I
think that Frankie stays as close to me as he can so
he will not lose track of me. He finds security at my
feet or next to me on the couch. That is the biggest
lesson I have learned so far from my dog. I need to
stay at the feet of Jesus because it is the place of
safety and security for me. I am where I should be as
one of His faithful followers when I am at His feet.
I don’t
know about you, but I think we can learn a lesson from
"the dogs" and possibly more than one. This
is a lesson for today. Kudos to my teacher and friend,
Frankie. Thanks, glory and honor to my Master and
Savior Jesus Christ. May I always remember my place is
at His feet!
Prayer:
Father
God we come to You in the Name of Jesus and thank You
for the promise that You will always be found when we
seek You. We long for Your Presence and Your power in
our lives. Help us to remember that we need to be
faithful to You just as You are faithful to us. If an
animal can show such faithfulness then we as Your
children should find our place at Your feet and remain
there peacefully.
We
love You, Father. We need You in our lives. Without
You we are forsaken and alone. We will seek You
knowing that a big God like You is not very hard to
find.
Thank You for Your tender love and
mercies.
In
Jesus' Name!
Amen!
