Keep Your Dog On A Leash

{ September 29, 2009 @ 1:30 am } · { Daily Life }
{ Tags: Daily Life, Relationships }

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

There are days when I really hate walking my dog, Midnight. It seems that there is always an owner who feels that just because their dog is trained; it will always obey them, so they don’t see the need to put their dog on a leash. Several times I’ve walked my dog and he was attacked by a bigger dog. Although he is a Springer Spaniel and 17 years-old he is tough and always fights back. Once I walked him on the soccer/baseball field next to my house and a lady had her dog running loose with no leash. Her dog ran over to Midnight and I became nervous. You see I had him on a long leash, which made it difficult for me to control him. They sniffed each other. Midnight stood on his hind legs. The next thing I knew it was on! I tried pulling him back with no success. The woman just stood there calling her big dog as I yelled out to her, “LADY GET YOUR DOG!” I yelled out “WHERE IS YOUR LEASH?” Her reply was, “way over there.” Angry, at this point, I tried pulling my dog away while she struggled on the ground with her dog until she finally got him under control. As I walked away devastated, I realized that I had to be real careful and watch out for stray dogs. I also realized that I can no longer use a longer leash when I walk my dog. Now I’m more cautious when approaching the field.

This got me to thinking about my life. There were times that I wanted to get off of my leash or got close to getting off, anyway. I mean, let’s face it, sometimes you just don’t want to be kept. As long as you are in this flesh, that old nature will want to take over if you aren’t being lead by the Lord. Ladies, you know what I mean. Had there been a fine brother…. NO. Let me be specific, if it were the ROCK, “DeWayne Johnson” walking his dog instead of that lady I probably would have attacked him or thought about attacking him. Hey just keeping it real. Shoot, I’m married, not dead.

There have been times I’ve been attacked in the field of life. Satan used my family, my friends, my co-workers, my children, my spouse and even the church. Sometimes he used them all at once to gang up on me. My flesh, in some of those occasions did bark and bite and my old nature flared up. I realized that I wasn’t fighting flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness in high places. I had to learn to fight a different way. I still fight with my mouth and hands; but they’re just lifted up towards heaven and I am on my knees praying and crying out to God.

Our flesh can be just like a dog we need to keep on a short leash. We can get so comfortable thinking that we got the word of God hidden in our hearts that we start to feel invincible; that nothing can touch us. We start to take risks and get slack. We start wandering off. We stop praying. We stop reading the Word. We stop working in ministry, and then we stop going to Bible study and church all together. After a while, the world starts becoming a big playground and every day the leash gets longer and longer, until we find ourselves running free from our Master. Then here comes the big dog (Satan) with his temptations.

As believers, we need to stay close to our Master and let the Holy Spirit lead, guide and direct us as we walk through our daily life. We need to daily submit to God, then we can resist the devil and he will flee from us, but only for a season. For we know that there is no temptation, such as common to man that, God won’t make a way for us to escape……if we keep “OUR DOG” on a leash.

© Copyright 9/09
Ella D. Fleming