DAILY
Devotion
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.
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