It’s amusing to me how many times I’ve been taught the same lesson. I’ve got a Doberman puppy that is one of the smartest and, at the same time, brainless animals I have ever seen. She has survived getting hit by a car going 30 mph, which is impressive, but I think she lost a bit of her ability to learn on the side of the road…The command I am trying to instill in her for the past couple of weeks has been to sit in the kitchen while our family is eating dinner. Mostly because Gideon really enjoys feeding her under the table, but also because it’s just bad manners to have a dog sniffing around the table. So what I’ve learned about Turkish is that she doesn’t learn based on punishment, only by showing her what is right. I’ve spent entire meals pushing her back away from the table over and over and over again. You can punish, yell, scold or punish in any way and she will continue to come to the table. So then I figured I would show her what I want her to do instead of showing her what I don’t want her to do. So I sit her in the kitchen and tell her to stay. She got up a couple of times and I sat her back down. 5 minutes later, she sits in the kitchen for dinner. “Sit and stay in the kitchen”
I can relate so much to this brainless dog recently. I feel like I’ve been running head first into walls day after day, hour after hour. It seemed like every part of my life, being a husband, father, pastor and child of God was spent figuring out what NOT to do…and the funny thing is I just kept coming back for more. More punishment, more disappointment, more proof that I had no idea what I was doing. And then, I had enough….”God show me what in the world I’m supposed to do?” “Sit and stay in the kitchen.”
It’s good to have a Father/God that is patient and answers specifically. The truth is, I’m just a brainless puppy and can’t reach my potential until I ask for instruction from my Master. Not master in the sense that I have no control, but master in the sense that I acknowledge I am not in charge.
I’ve learned that when things work it had nothing to do with my efforts. The old phrase, “You can do anything, if you put your mind to it” is garbage. Image what kind of faith that would create if it were true. There wouldn’t be much need for a God that is all-powerful. The sooner we admit we don’t know what we are doing, the sooner we are able to see God’s work in our lives. That’s when things work….
