A Lesson from Lucy

John 10:27 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”

About a year and a half ago, we got a dog. She is awesome. Her name is Lucy. She is a mini Bernedoodle. Her mom was a Bernese mountain dog (62 pounds) and her dad was a mini poodle (12 pounds). I’ll give you a minute to figure that one out.

We have been trying to train Lucy, on and off, to walk without a leash. Let me tell you this, that is the most terrifying thing to do. My heart is pounding in my chest the whole time. She has her good girl collar on, which helps us to keep her from darting out in the street, but still. I prefer to walk her on her leash. That way, I can keep her close and make sure she doesn’t eat anything that I will regret later. It also keeps her from darting away from me to chase after squirrels and cats and rabbits. It also helps me to keep her on track, that way I don’t have to stand for 10 minutes while she sniffs a blade of grass.

As I was walking her the other day, I got to thinking about my walk with Jesus. Sometimes, I wish that He had me on a leash to keep me from things that He knows can hurt me. He could just give me a gentle tug and get me away from something that I will regret later. He could keep me from chasing something that looks fun. He would also be able to keep me on track easier and keep me from lingering too long at something useless.

But Jesus doesn’t keep us on a harness. He lets us roam free and make our own choices. There is a great big world out there full of distractions and places to linger at and stuff that looks really fun to chase. Yet, it is our choice to stay walking right beside Him.

The great thing about our walk is Him calling out to us. Now, I don’t hear Him audibly but I hear Him in my heart. I hear Him call out to me – “Hey, that’s not something you need to linger at.” or “Melissa, come on. You don’t need to chase that right now.” or “Come on, that thing over there is not worth your time.” But sometimes I don’t listen. That thing is just too shiny or too interesting or I think I just have to go check it out. And off I go. Wandering away.

One of my son’s most favorite sayings is – “Not all who wander are lost.”

And that is so very true of me. I am not lost. I am saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and I am a child of the King. He always knows where I am at. But I do have a tendency to wander. And sometimes, wandering can get me in a heap of trouble.

But thanks be to God, for that still, small voice that calls out to me to come home. Come back to His loving arms of protection. Come back to the place where I am loved and cared for. Come back to the place where I can walk with Him.

Safe and secure

Romans 8:38,39 – “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The other night, one of my daughter’s friends came over for dinner. This lovely young lady has not had much of a Christian influence in her live save going to a Christian school. There, she has tried to surround herself with a few followers of Christ to help keep her accountable. My daughter is one of them. We have spend many, many hours in prayer and conversation over this young lady and the challenges that she has faced in her short life.

While we were sitting around the dinner table, just she, my daughter and I, we somehow got on the subject of the security of the believer. Now, I have no clue how we found ourself on that path, but if you knew this young lady….you would understand.

Anyway, she was afraid that she could do something wrong that would keep her out of Heaven. I told her that that was not what the Bible teaches. I paraphrased the verse above and told her that nothing and no one could take us away from God once we have truly accepted Jesus as our Savior. Now, we can walk away from Him, but if we have truly accepted Him as our Savior, we cannot be taken out of His hand.

She looked at me and said, “Really?”

It made me a bit sad. How is it that we are not telling people this vital information? How much hope and confidence and security are new believers missing out on because we have failed to inform them that once they choose to climb up into God’s hand, nothing and no one is going to snatch them out of there? Not even death can separate them from God. It’s just a stepping stone.

We need to get this information out there. We need to put it on a billboard. We need to give people this confidence and assurance in a world that is so unstable and hopeless.

The next time you are talking to someone about your life, your day, your story, don’t forget to tell them how much this security means to you. Maybe you need to stop and remember how much this affects your every day life. Maybe you need to think about the fact that you are sitting in God’s hand – in the cleft of the Rock – on that high mountain, safe and secure.