Trust in the Lord…
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)
TRUST IS A WONDERFUL THING that we can observe taking place at almost every level of human and animal life on the earth. Recently we heard a thump noise on our back porch. It was almost time to feed the cat and lock him up for the night.
I LOOKED THROUGH THE BACK DOOR and there was a big coon that had stuck her hand into the lid on the churn and threw it aside onto the floor. She was after the cat food in the churn. I pushed the door open slightly and began telling her to move along. She slowly moved back against the wall and looked up at me but didn’t run. I told her several times to go on, careful to keep the door between me and her. If a coon is cornered they can make you a bloody mess in a pair of seconds. On the other hand, I have heard of coons and humans learning to trust each other like a dog or cat or horse. Some children have pet chickens, pet hens. Pet ducks; pet pigs, pet goats.
FINALLY, MAMA COON COMPLIED AND WEN OUT THE OPEN DOOR. At the bottom of the steps, she turned and looked up at me and then eased off back down into the woods. I put a brick on top of the churn lid. The next night there was a bigger noise and there lay the brick and the lid. Same coon, but this time she had brought her four nice-size cubs with her and they were all lined up on our back porch like they were ready for Sunday school. Beautiful! Cute!
I HAED TO SEND MAMA AND HER CUBS AWAY HUNGRY, but reluctantly they moved down the stairs and paused to look up at me. As they moved to the woods, the cat bounded up the stairs to take charge of his domain and have some supper.
THE TRUST WITHIN ANIMAL FAMILIES IS OUTSTANDING! The bonding and trust between domesticated animals and human beings is outstanding. The love and trust between children and animals is impressive. Our picture for today moves me to just stare at the picture and take it in. The dog is trusting that the little kid won’t hurt him and he little kid believes the dog is his closest friend.
IT REMINDS ME OF OLD TIGE, Grandpa’s old dog, that regularly killed rattlesnakes and copperheads and killed every dog that wandered onto his property. And yet, Old Tige was so gentle with children. In the late 40’s when I would take the truck and tools into the pasture field to replace a fence post, the cows would hear the commotion and come over to see what the noise was all about. They would stay until I left. Why can’t we be as curious and trusting in God as the cows can be curious and trusting of us?
THIS HAPPENED IN THE BIBLE.
IN MARK 7, A SYROPHENICIAN WOMAND SOUGHT JESUS to cast a devil out of her daughter. Jesus had walked a long way to the coast of Tyre and Sidon, maybe 150 miles. (This is where Elijah had stayed with a widow woman for a while, and they had a daily miracle of meal and oil being replenished daily until the drought ended. Elijah ended up raising the woman’s son from the dead.) Jesus toyed with the Syrophenician woman a bit to draw her out. She needed to say some things that were buried in her heart.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN if we are going to do business with God. It’s not enough to know a lot about the Bible. Some of it has to catch fire and burn. We have to be moved. God has to become a living reality to us.
But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. (Mark 7:27-29)
BUT NOTICE SOMETHING ELSE THAT IS SAID HERE. In her house there were dogs in the house that got under the table at mealtime to lap up the fallen crumbs of food. These were not the wild dogs that roamed in packs and lived off dead animals. These were special, smaller dogs that were domesticated just like in thousands of homes today.
THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ABOUT CHILDREN AND THEIR DOGS. Have you noticed that if you spell dog backward, it spells: God! God made us and dogs to have the capacity to love each other. There are plenty of men that will shoot you if you mess with their dog. If you don’t know that, you should know it. It might save your life sometime. If we can trust our dog, why can’t we trust God?
THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT HAVING FAITH IN GOD. It’s about our text for today, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. God wants that from us. God wants that FOR us. We need to have that kind of trust in God. We have to exercise ourselves toward God in trusting Him if we want to have that kind of relationship with Him. Wouldn’t it be sad if we could trust our dog, but we can’t trust God? This is worth thinking about. God wants to be one with us. That’s the plan. And, if God is a stranger, His plan is not working.
AND IN THE MORNING, AS THEY PASSED BY, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. (Mark 11:20-22)
Read Through the Bible in a Year
AUGUST 29, 2018 – WEDNESDAY
A.M. Psalms 139-141 P.M. 1Corinthians 10:1-13
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Good Verse to Memorize:
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? (Luke 24:31-32) (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
Song for Today:
Trust in the Lord (1:26) (Joseph Francis)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME_9aNBlEBI
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
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