I was driving around our town recently and encountered something unexpected. As I was stopped at a red light I noticed some commotion out of my peripheral vision. I turned to the right and saw a man walking a dog. Well, maybe he wasn’t walking the dog as much as the dog was walking him. This dog, (that resembled a miniature horse and outweighed the man) was dragging this man for all he was worth. The man would begin moving to the right and the dog would pull left. The man would try to stop moving and the dog pulled him forward, almost to a run at times. This dog had a mind of its own and was leading him in directions he had no intentions of going. Cujo was so big the man had no other choice than allow it to take the lead-though he tried. This gentleman had to throw (what I assume was) a snack of some sort in the back of the SUV. When the dog realized it he jumped in and the man quickly slammed the door. The light changed and I began driving again, laughing and amused at what I had just seen.
Then it hit me. Isn’t this how life is sometimes? We are going about our merry way, assuming we are in complete control, and……BAM……something attaches itself to us. It could be anything really— bitterness, envy, frustration, worry. Or even worse, we attach ourselves to something; we take something on as a pet. Maybe a bad habit of some sort such as drinking, glancing at pornography, developing an unhealthy relationship with someone……we begin flirting with sin. Before we know it that harmless ‘thing’ has grown into a little monster. We’re left questioning, “Who’s in charge here?” Rarely will we ever encounter offers of blatant sin. That’s too obvious. The deception comes when we think we can continue flirting and everything will be okay. We are reminded in Galatians 5:16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We can’t place our convictions on the sidelines for even a moment. It only takes a short time of us letting our guard down for the devil to plant those seeds of deception. That thing we once thought we had control over has managed to place us on a leash and is dragging us around, controlling our minds and movement. Just like the dog owner, we have to outsmart that thing. We have to turn to our only source of power and let Him help us fight battles we’re not equipped to fight. By walking in the Spirit we place our attention on Him rather than our own personal feelings/lusts. What’s dragging you around today? What are you doing to do about it?
Closing remarks and encouragement: If something seems too good to be true, it is. We never intend on allowing certain things to get out of hand but they do. There’s no shame in admitting weakness. Gaining control is as simple as asking for help. Don’t feel guilty. Just ask for help and move forward. And we both know where our help comes from.
Psalm 121:1-8 (NKJV)
121 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.