This is the fifth post in a series about life through the eyes of a Wiener-dog owner
Who Me? Trust?
My dog, Boomer, likes coffee. Alright, I’ll admit that is pretty weird, but he drinks the last of my coffee every morning. This is relevant because I was sitting on our sofa this morning and Boomer was at my feet whining to come up in my lap (with legs less than 2 inches long, sofas must seem like the Rocky Mountains to him). At least I thought he wanted to come up in my lap. So, in expectation of his full attention and affection, I picked him up. After a quick cursory lick in the general direction of my chin, his true motive became clear. My coffee cup was the object of his desire. I was simply a means to an end, and that end was sticking his long pointed nose into my coffee cup and draining its remaining contents. Let’s withhold our criticism of him for a second, though. A verse in Isaiah 26 came to my mind: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! I thought about how often my approaching God, or spending time with Him, isn’t based on my desire to be with Him… it is about something in His hand that I want. Is it just me, or do your prayers often turn into “give me” and “bless me” sessions? I think there is a key in the above verse that I mentioned: trusting God and fixing our thoughts on Him will bring us peace – not just peace, but perfect peace. Man, couldn’t we use some of that? Just a couple of other quick thoughts: first of all, trust means we don’t have to beg God for the things we need (or think we need). Look what Jesus said in Matthew 6:31,32: “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” We will never find peace in worrying about daily provision. Sometimes it is only one day’s provision, but it is enough for that day. In Exodus 16:4, God told Moses “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.” The Israelites were like me… they grabbed lots of extra to make sure they had enough for a “rainy day.” Alas, it spoiled after one day. Trust is knowing that provision will be there again tomorrow. Lamentations 3:22,23 says, “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” The other part of the perfect peace equation is keeping our thoughts fixed on Him. After telling us not to worry about our needs in Matthew 6, Jesus ended that thought with this phrase, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” If anyone ever needed this message, it is me today. Peace is often a fleeting commodity in my life, choked out by the weeds of worry and need. How about you? Could you use a little more peace today? Try fixing your thought on God and His kingdom, and forget about that coffee cup in His hand.