Last summer we took our dog through obedience school. I think the process was more for us than for her, but she is doing well. She is a toy fox terrier and loves to hunt. Our obedience school trainer taught us a game of hide-n-seek for the dog. When one of the kids goes to hide and then calls her to come, her ears perk up, and she leans in toward the sound. And then off she goes in their direction! The purpose of the game is to make it so rewarding to come when she hears our voice that if she were ever in danger or starting to go in the wrong direction, she would come right away when we call.
I was talking to my son about trusting Jesus the other day. I encouraged him to listen for the truth of Scripture and then let his heart lean in or turn toward the truth.
We saw…that she first had to recognize our voices, trust that we cared for her.
Perk up your ears, so to speak.
We talked about how trust is when you can’t see yet how things will work out, but you know that God loves you and he wants the best for you.
John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (NIV).
Listen and lean in.
Looking ahead into uncertainty.
Listen and lean in.
New goals, dreams, and challenges are surfacing.
Listen and lean in.
We get to choose how we spend our days and with whom.
Listen and lean in.
The verse in Proverbs 3:5 is such a familiar one, but I have appreciated the wording in it.
“Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and LEAN not on your own understanding…”
I can lean on his understanding and lean towards his ways. That will keep me on the right path.
Sometimes, leaning in for us looks like re-focusing on Scripture or playing worship music. Sometimes, leaning in looks like stopping to pray a prayer of thanks or to ask for wisdom. Sometimes, it looks like the hard work of cultivating relationships or planting the seed of the gospel.
We saw with our puppy that she first had to recognize our voices, trust that we cared for her, and then keep leaning in and seeking until she found us, sometimes for a long time without getting distracted.
My kids and I are learning that following God is not exactly the same, but sometimes a similar process. The first step to trust and obedience is perking up our ears to listen, then leaning in and moving towards his voice. And then running into his arms and toward his good plan for us!
2 Responses
Such a helpful “parable!”
I wonder how this would work with a dog that had been abused by a master? It would definitely make trusting a new master more difficult — and take more “programming” to build trust in a new master.
Our Master never abuses us, but many blame Him for allowing abuse in their lives….making trust in a loving God more difficult.
I really enjoyed this writing, thanks Miriam!