Dogged Trust

By Ginny Dix
Staff Writer

CBN.com – My two dogs, Oliver and Dodger, are popular with the neighborhood kids. The kids often come over to play with them. However, kids being kids, they aren’t always vigilant about keeping my gate closed, so the dogs take advantage and escape my yard every chance they get.

When I’m not home, my cousin, who lives with me, mobilizes the neighborhood to get the fugitives safely back into confinement where they belong. Oliver and Dodger have a ball playing games like “Chase Me” and “Keep Away” with so many people. They think it’s great fun, while my poor neighbors go through an awful ordeal to recapture them. The neighbors try tricking the dogs, they try trapping them, and then finally, when both humans and canines are exhausted, they get the dogs back in the yard.

But if the dogs escape when I’m home, all I do is get out the leashes and crouch where my dogs can see me. They come running right to me because those leashes mean we’re going for a walk, one of their favorite activities. They know I’m not going to punish them and I’m not trying to trick them. We’re going to get our walk, even if it’s only the short walk home. They trust me.

Trust isn’t as easy for humans. When someone does something special for us, we don’t know whether to trust the blessing or not. We quickly learn the hard way that too often when people are nice to us, they’re just buttering us up because they want something from us. Before we bask in the glow of their kindnesses, we want to know, “What’s the catch?”

So when the Lord blesses us, we get suspicious. What awful thing is about to happen to us that He is preparing us for?

But Proverbs 10:22 (KJV) says, “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” The Lord blesses us to see us happy, to gift us with pleasure, to make us rich in joy. He is not trying to trick us, nor setting us up for a crushing disappointment.

We can trust Him because He loves us and always does what’s best for us. God blesses us every day in so many ways, small and large. Wouldn’t you think that many good things would prove God can be trusted—that His blessings don’t come with strings attached?

Every rainbow we see, every time the sun is shining, every “yes” answer to prayer we get should strengthen our trust in the Lord. After all, every good thing that comes our way comes from Him (James 1:17.)

As much as I love my dogs, I do have an agenda when I bring out those leashes: I’m trying to get them safely back home. But God has no hidden agenda, no ulterior motives, no sinister designs on us. We can enjoy His blessings because we can trust Him. He will bless us richly and not add sorrow with it.

Ginny Dix is a Partner Services Representative at CBN. Send her your e-mail comments.