Last weekend, I was out cutting the grass.   In fact, I had just practically started mowing and I heard my neighbor hollering at me, “Lori!”  At first it brought back memories of when I was in trouble and mom was trying to get my attention. However, when I swung around, there stood my neighbor, obviously upset.  I turned off the mower and found out that the dog they had adopted the day before, Sadie, just ran away!

She gave me a description of Sadie and so I told her I would jump into the car and see if I could find her.  My neighbor declined to go with me because she wanted to be on foot instead.  She was walking up and down the sidewalk calling for the dog to come to no avail.  She told me earlier that the dog loved the woods.  She also said some golfers had seen it heading up through my yard across the street.  My first thought was, “If she goes to those woods, she’s going to come out on a very busy road!”

So, I hopped into my car and headed out to the busy road I feared would be her fate if someone didn’t find her quickly.  I drove slowly down the road and didn’t see her.  However, I did see a deer with his rear-end sticking out of the woods!  He was bent down as though he had discovered something interesting low to the ground.

I know from experience that deer usually don’t leave their hind quarters hanging out for the world to see them.  It just looked suspicious to me.  Like maybe a puppy ran through the woods and happened to run up on a deer resting in the woods.  So I made a u-turn and pulled onto the side of the road near the deer.  By the time I got stopped and looked up, the deer was gone, but low and behold there was Sadie standing in the tall grass about 50 feet from the busy road.  I knew this was my chance so I started talking to her from far away and tried to keep her attention on me.  She seemed to be interested and at that point I was just praying she wouldn’t dart and run away from me as I got close.  When I got up to her…not even knowing for sure this was the right dog…she laid down as though to submit to me.  I swept her up and we were instantly friends!

You see, Sadie had once been rescued by my neighbors to a home that will love and care for her.  However, she didn’t really know what she had until she went out into the woods and ran up against the big dogs…or in this case a deer!  I think that even though she had been running fast and furious, she was scared from her recent encounter and was relieved to see me.  As I put her in the car, she went right in and lay down on the seat exhausted from her excursion.

Have you ever had something like this happen to you?  Have you ever told God, “It’s O.K., I can handle this one on my own?  Have you ever ignored His voice and just kept running, only to get into the middle of the woods to realize, you can’t do it on your own?  Have you ever lay down in the tall grass and said, “Here I am, Lord.  I really messed up.  Can you please pick me up and rescue me once again from this mess I’ve caused for myself?”

I think we can all honestly say we’ve been there.  What are you running away from now?  Have you paused to listen for God’s call in your situation?  Do you even recognize Him speaking to you or are you are just so focused on running you’re not hearing Him?  Just like Sadie, are you contemplating running away again or are you fixing your eyes on Him and His voice speaking specifically to you. He’s calling you to be rescued.  My prayer today is that you will recognize His voice from afar and focus only on Him.  Allow the distractions of the world to fade away from your thinking.  Then lay down, so to speak, to submit to the One who is ready to sweep you up into His arms and rescue you for eternity.

He wants to love you like you have never been loved before.

He wants to care for you like no other.

He wants to show you that you don’t have to run anymore.

He’s here for you with open arms.

Just simply…stop running.

John 10:27-28 (NKJV)  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.