Living without fear empowers us to accomplish our purpose in life.
While visiting with my daughter’s family, I walked downtown with my grandson. Their Chihuahua/Mini Doberman, ‘Little Girl’, followed us part of the way. We cut through an alley and found ourselves running the gauntlet of what seemed to be the county dog pound. Actually it was people’s back yards.
The first one contained about eight curly yip -yip dogs. When they saw Little Girl it sounded like the world exploded as they began to squeak their challenges. Two dogs lived in the next yard, I’m guessing a Jack Russell and a Rottweiler, though I’m not good on breeds. They added their voice to the clamor.
The neighbor had two German Shepherds that must crossed with a mountain lion (believe it or not a Chihuahua lived with them, too). They crashed against the fence barking furiously, showing their slavering, two-foot fangs.
Now, I don’t speak dog but I’m sure some of them were saying some things to Little Girl that I can’t repeat in this space. Friendly campers, they weren’t. They didn’t have the gift of encouragement.
And on the other side of the fence can you imagine Little Girl’s reaction? Terrified? Whimpering? Running away in fear? Nope. She didn’t even look worried.
She pranced right up to the fence and sniffed, added her own barks as if she were twenty-foot tall instead of a couple of inches from the ground. She got to within about a foot of those maniac German Shepherds who ached to sink their fangs into her scrawny body. Though she was a bit more wary, she seemed oblivious to any mortal danger. Maybe she just wanted a front-row seat to two monsters acting like idiots.
You know why she acted like that? Was she blonde? Did she have a death wish? Did she have an AK-47 stashed somewhere just waiting for all that dog flesh to break through so that she could mow them down?
Nope. There was a strong fence separating her from her enemies, so she simply wasn’t worried. They were imprisoned, not her.
Chihuahua Lessons
Christians could learn some lessons from this fearless puppy. We spend a lot of our life worried about the howling horrors of “what-might-happen.†We run as far away from these noisy threats as we can, even if they lie next to a road that God told us to walk on.
“I would obey, but what if …â€
“I just worry constantly about my children.â€
Once I was hospitalized for minor surgery. I was in the room with another man and one day he had a visitor. The visitor asked what my problem was and when I described it, he began to tell me about someone else he knew who had had the same thing. I listened unhappily as he described all the gross consequences his friend had had after his operation.
Afterwards my room-mate asked me what I thought about what the man had said. “The fellow he was talking about didn’t have what I have,†I answered. “He had cancer or some other disease but he didn’t have what I had.â€
I refused to consider all the goofy ramifications the other had described. And I didn’t have any either. Why expect the worst? And if it comes, if the “dog†gets out, hasn’t the Lord promised to be with us in all kinds of tough times?
We’re victorious if the enemy roars at us from his yard and we’re still winners if he has the bad luck to get loose and attack us.
Just ask Goliath. Those Chihuahuas have a nasty bite when they’re trusting God!
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Phil. 4:6-9, The Message)
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Hummm …
Francis Schaeffer speaking of the work he began, L’Abri, said,”It’s a very hard thing in our generation,it seems to me,to find anything that can’t be explained on the basis of public relations. We’ll look to the personal God to see what He wants to do with this work.”
Smile–
“I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives.†– Unknown
“The sole purpose of a child’s middle name, is so he can tell when he’s really in trouble.†– Unknown
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