I was just thinking about ...
“Get
it, Ginsu; tear it up.” We were watching our Chihuahua embroiled in a battle
of life and death with his old archenemy... the foot warmer. Though it didn’t
vibrate or heat anymore, it was much more comfortable on the feet than the cold
floor when at the computer. But it had been kicked underneath one of the desks
some time back, hidden from view and forgotten about. But Ginsu, seeing the
world from a decidedly lower perspective, found it “stalking” him. After a
short time, he attacked it. I watched as he heroically attacked the invader that
certainly outsized him. He barked at it, then grabbed it in his teeth and shook
it with all his might. Occasionally in the melee, the invader would make an
unexpected move, leaping on top of Ginsu. He yelped and ran quickly around to
attack from another angle.
At
this point, I reminded my wife about my idea for his name, Godzilla. Yep,
Godzilla was afraid of nothing and that’s what this dog was all about.
“Uh-huh,” responded my wife. “Well, when Ginsu the wonder mutt was out on
his walk, it was a different story.” She started laughing and explaining all
about the walk she had just taken him on. He doesn’t go outside much, so when
she took him on the walk, he was exposed to a brand new, scary world. Outside of
his comfortable surroundings, he transformed from Ginsu the Terrible to Pollo
(Spanish for chicken) the Terrified. Ginsu was afraid of just about everything
he came into contact with, including the grass; which of course was half as tall
as he was.
I
got thinking, isn’t that the case with most Christians today? It’s easy to
be bold in the safety of the sanctuary where everyone thinks along the same
lines as you. You can face off against the Devil and his minions and shout the
praises of God almighty till your lungs are ready to burst. Even though Satan is
the first of the angels, we don’t care; he can’t touch us, right? And then
we leave the sanctuary, our place of comfort and security. What happens then? Do
we lose our strength, our power …our confidence in the ability of God to
empower us wherever we go? The world outside the church is a scary place. Even
the simple grass of everyday life is seen as reaching up to trip and grab us.
And we are terrified as our boldness in the faith takes a hike out the back
door. Then the guilt and shame of our true nature falls heavily upon us, shoving
our faces further into the dust till we are too ashamed and embarrassed to raise
our eyes toward heaven to seek help from our Lord.
And
yet, that is exactly what He’s waiting for. He just can’t wait to help us.
His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Every time we lift our heads to
him and are strengthened to stand once again, God receives glory. We realize our
powerlessness apart from God and are encouraged to reach out to him to receive
power. That connection proves to the powers of evil that God is omnipotent; that
He is able to accomplish great and mighty wonders through such helpless
creatures as us. So the next time you feel the world closing in on you, seek the
help of God. Call out the mighty name of Jesus the Christ, the all-powerful Son
of God. Call on the power of the Holy Spirit of God and see what happens. It may
sound like the scared yelp of a powerless Chihuahua, but the presence of God
will give you courage to change position and attack with more ferocity and
determination than you thought possible. What a gift! What a God!
Drop
on by anytime, I'll be here and so will God,
Dennis