Encouragement & Direction

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

Many years ago I was sitting with my dear friend Brett, who I miss so much now that he has gone to be with the Lord. We were talking about his dog, Rocky. He had him out that day for some training before he entered a hunting dog test the next weekend. Brett told me that as a dog owner, when your dog is going through the test, if you shout out “No” at any point, it doesn’t matter how well the dog was doing – it’s over and your dog does not pass. He is disqualified because of YOUR behavior.

I thought about this, and asked him “Then as an owner if your dog isn’t doing something right, what are you supposed to do?” He said that you can give any type of command directed at changing or controlling his behavior such as “Sit”, Heel” etc. but you can’t just yell “No.” In other words, you can’t just stop your dog in his tracks or give a demoralizing command.

As we talked I realized this is how God speaks to us.

Many times we pray and ask, and think that the answer is a “no” when I think that is rarely the case, even tho we hear it that way, or don’t get the answer we are looking for. His intent is not to demoralize, but always to encourage and direct.

I think that most of the time He says something like “Do this instead” or “Keep on with what you are doing” but rarely does He just say “Stop and do nothing!”

That gave me a fresh perspective on how I talk with God, and what I am listening for when I wait on Him. Just like Brett to bring the practical and the spiritual together.