I’m Your Buddy

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19

Buddy was born July 4th and he is a true fire cracker! I am sure he thinks his name is either Buddy Down or Buddy No. While he is a loving puppy, you’d never know it by the bite marks he has made during the last two months. But, between trash can tip overs, stealing socks and shoes, turning off his hearing, displaying his strong will, taking food out of the collie’s mouth, tearing up bank statements, and his head cocking, he has great value.

In those quiet moments (actually sparse seconds) when he climbs up to cuddle, he brings a total sense of relaxation while petting him—especially his velvety, soft, floppy ears. There is nothing silkier! Any anger at his antics seems to just melt away. Of course, we (Sue and I) know that this is short-lived.

He is a buddy; a friend with high energy, food hound behaviors, cuteness overload, extremely smart, very trainable and has mischievous and stubborn determination. I wonder what words God would use to describe us. Some of us are still in the puppy stages but some of us are seniors. How have we grown?

What would happen if we flipped the names and called God Buddy? What if we thought of him as loyal, helpful, ever-present, dependable, joyful and even playful? In some unexplainable way, Buddy, the dog, has finagled his way into our hearts—even with his exasperating antics. I am not calling God a dog but rather using His creation as a life lesson.

Has God found His way deep into your heart? Yes, there are times when we could question Him, when life makes no sense, when things seem out of control. Those times exist, but He is still our Master and Friend. We are all attending obedience school as we journey through this life.

When our Master wants us to travel a path that we have never been down, do we turn off our hearing? If He tells us to feed the hungry, do we selfishly take it out of someone else’s mouth? Can we show loyalty without seeking praise or a reward? Is it possible for us to demonstrate obedience without going into physical/mental anguish?

The next time that an opportunity arises when you can sit quietly and pet a dog or a cat, think of our Buddy, our Master and sovereign God of the universe. We can learn so much from Him. If we listen and obey, He can bring us great Joy!

To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

Father God, help us to obey without question. Turn our reluctance into loyalty. AMEN.