Good morning! This morning I am reminded again of how God uses the people, places, or things in my life to reinforce His Word. When my wife and I first got married, we were living in an apartment and thought it would be a great idea to get a dog. We didn’t have any kids at this point of our marriage and thought it would be fun to have a pet. Now this was not a bad idea, but it was hard to find a dog that fit my requirements.
As I was growing up, my family always had a dog (or two), and as much as I enjoyed them, I did not want a dog that would shed, drool, or bark. So I know many of you are saying to yourselves – so you really didn’t want a dog LOL! We ended up settling on a Yorkie and went to local breeder to pick him up. We brought ‘Jersey’ home to our apartment and that was beginning of a whole new chapter in our lives. He was so cute, cuddly, and loved being at my feet. We loved spending time with him, taking him for walks, and taking him everywhere we went.
Shortly after welcoming Jersey into our family, we ended up moving to New York. It was here in New York where we rescued another Yorkie from a coworker of mine. We took Jersey over to meet Bear – yes, a tough little guy who ALWAYS needs attention. The two boys were friendly with each other so we decided to take Bear home. Jersey had to be put down a few years ago, but Bear is still with us.
Bear and Jersey were the same breed, but very different dogs. One of the differences is how Jersey could eat anything and everything and it would never bother him, but when Bear eats the wrong food, his sensitive stomach rejects it and he vomits it out. Believe it or not, this is where God’s Word comes to life!
When Bear throws up, almost every time he will go back over to it. He will sniff at it, lick it, and yes he will even begin to eat it if we don’t get to him in time! One of the first times I saw this, I remembered a verse in the Bible:
As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.
Proverbs 26:11
This is one of those verses that kind of sticks out as like, “What?” Did I just read that right? And the answer is yes! How many of us have at one time or another (maybe even right now) have made the same mistake over and over again? We know what we are doing is wrong but can’t seem to stay away from doing it.
I am a person that is very hard on myself. I have gotten better through the years, but it still shines through. And now, I am beginning to see how my son is the same way and it breaks my heart because I know the pain that comes with this. The one thing I always try to remind him is that – IT IS OK TO MESS UP! But it’s important to learn from your mistakes so you don’t keep doing the same thing!
Maybe you need to hear that today, it is ok to mess up. BUT, learn from the mistake so you don’t have to experience the pain of the consequences! Just like a dog going back to its vomit, the fool will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again!
The book of Romans warns us agains this.
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness.”
Romans 6:11-13
You know what stands out to me – don’t offer ANY part to sin, but EVERY part to God. When we make ourselves busy offering EVERY part of ourselves to God, there won’t be anything left over to offer sin!
Heavenly Father, thank You for these verses that stand out! I am continuously amazed at how I see Your Word come to life through things as simple as owning a pet and recognizing its mannerisms. Help us to open our eyes and ears to see and hear You speak to us throughout our day! Speak Lord, we are listening!
Be Transformed 