Tripping Over Animals
Each evening this summer, as the sun sets, Dean and I have fallen into a chore routine before sitting down on the porch with our “wind down” reading. Dean waters the flowers, feeds the pigs, and I pick up the food and refill water for the meat chickens and put the laying hens into the coop for the night. All the animals are accustomed to and anticipate the drill, so the hens are typically scratching and pecking in the yard waiting for me to come out with my bag of mealworms. They know I will sprinkle a generous handful in the porch of the coop which lures them all in. As soon as they hear the crinkle of the mealworm bag, they come racing across the yard in their inimitable chicken run which always makes me laugh. However, as I make my way towards the coop, they have the habit of running just in front of my feet which stops my way forward and delays their receiving the treat. If I’m not careful, I could step on or trip over one. I’ve noticed that our cats do a similar thing. Tilly, in particular, gets insistent when she can see the bottom of her food bowl, and won’t leave me alone until I come to see what her issue is. She too, will run zigzagging right in front of my feet slowing my progress. I’m sure this is very familiar to you if you have a cat. I have twice, over the years, fallen down the stairs and sprained an ankle by either stepping on or trying to avoid stepping on a cat. I’m not sure why these animals do this, other than they are so intent on getting the food they want, and they don’t understand how a bipedal human moves.
Oddly, stepping on animals came to mind as I thought about keeping momentum in my walk with the Lord. For me, doubt is a big issue that can trip me up. Even though God has been incredibly good and faithful to the DeHoog clan, I still can go down the worry road. I can doubt that He will provide and care for us if the unthinkable happens—forgetting that the unthinkable thing is actually in His sovereign plan and control. I doubt that He will do what He says He will do—I can believe that He will do these things for others, but somehow not for us. I can doubt that God’s answers to prayer will be good. When I doubt, I start to try to control outcomes by covering every detail and contingency, instead of resting in God’s plan and provision. If I allow it to, doubt can spiral me into negative, dark thinking and depression; and I’m sure I am not the only one.
I think it’s God’s kindness and mercy that stories of doubting people are recorded for us in the Bible. I’m grateful that God knows, better than we do, how weak we are. Four times in the book of Matthew alone, Jesus is recorded saying to His disciples, “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” John the Baptist needed reassurance that Jesus was indeed the Christ after devoting his life to proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, and even baptizing Jesus and hearing the voice of God the Father declaring Jesus’ Sonship to all.
Matt 11:2-6 “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
I can understand why John needed such reassurance. He was in prison for boldly rebuking Herod Antipas for seducing and marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias, who eventually engineered John’s death. Jesus’ ministry was nothing like the political revolution the Jewish people expected the Messiah to bring. But Jesus sent the best answer—proof of fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah.
In the same way, when I doubt, it is because I have been distracted and swayed by events and “what ifs” happening here, in the seen realm, instead of keeping my eyes focused on the One who has saved me, Who keeps my foot from slipping (Ps 37:31, 66:9), and Who promises to bring the work He started in me to completion (Phil.1:6). I have found that when I confess my sin of doubt to the Father, ask Him for power to overcome the doubt and remember His promises, my thoughts are brought under the Lordship of Christ and peace comes. What a relief it is!
As we go through the book of James, ask the Lord what ‘animals’ you step on. What things hold you back in your walk with the Lord? I’m excited to be set free from doubt and the other sins that beset me, and I’m excited for you as well.