Positioning Myself

I never expected the Lord to use the hound dogs next door to bless my life. They are just your everyday, ordinary hounds…the kind that get to howling in the middle of the night and that bark their heads off at anything that moves during the day. I had never paid them much attention, that is until one particularly cold, winter morning.

I held a delightfully warm cup of coffee in my hands and gazed out my kitchen window. As I sipped and pondered what I should do next with my day, I noticed the dogs. They were sitting huddled up together on the back fence. And the more I thought about it, I realized I had seen them on that back fence for several mornings in a row. They were curled up in the spot where the first warm rays of sun hit the yard.

I could not help but marvel at those dogs. Those silly, barky hounds knew where to position themselves for warmth. They could have laid anywhere in the spacious backyard, but they knew up against the fence was the place to rest. No one had told them where to lay. No one taught them to seek warmth. It is a part of how God made them, how He designed them to survive. Those dogs instinctively positioned themselves every morning for survival.

And in those moments of marveling at dogs, truth struck my heart. Truth I know but do not always live.

I need to position myself for survival. I have a daily need, and that need is time with the Lord. I know I can do nothing apart from Him, I know in His presence is the fullness of joy, and yet, how many mornings do I bulldoze forward into my day and with my to-do list instead of sitting and soaking in time in His presence and in the Word?

Now, please do not think I am going all legalistic. I’m not. And I am not talking about feeling condemned over missing a quiet time or two. I am talking about remembering how much I am cheating myself when I do not spend time with the Lord. I am missing out on the amazing warmth of His love. I am choosing to decline the resource and provision He is ready to pour out on me.

I am so thankful for those goofy dogs. I may not have noticed them much before, but now they serve as such a sweet reminder in my life. As they are quick to seek the warm rays of the sun, may I also be quick to position myself to bask in the warmth of time with the Son.

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)