Pepper loves running ahead of me when we’re walking. Unlike my labs, who go exploring without a backwards glance, Pepper often stops to make sure I’m still coming. Oftentimes he’ll go check out a particularly delicious smell and then coming almost all the way back to me, as if to say, “Why are you walking so slowly?”
One day this last week, he was a good way down the hill into our lower pasture, so I stopped and crouched down. Velvet (on the leash) was delighted that I was down where she could wash my face. She trotted back almost immediately. Pepper glanced back, saw that I was crouching, saw that Velvet (with giant tail plumes waving) was coming to me, and immediately started for me. His ears went back flat against his head and he was running flat out. That made it all the more hilarious when suddenly, almost as if a string had caught his nose and pulled him off the path, he turned at almost a 90º angle to his original route. The pull of his nose was not as quickly communicated to his legs, however. As he made the turn, his ears went up, his nose went down to the ground and he cast about trying to pick up whatever that delicious smell was. It had to be something pretty enticing because his distraction was immediate!
I knew it was going to take a little while for him to find what it was that distracted him, so I resumed my walk. But I couldn’t help thinking about our walk with Jesus Christ. We have every determination to keep our eyes on our Master. We have singleness of heart and mind. We have great intentions . . . until something enticing catches our nose, our eye, or our attention. How quickly we are diverted from that direct route towards Jesus!!
Seriously! We are walking down the road of life and something unexpected crosses our path - a health issue, a problem with our job, a bad choice by a family member - and suddenly our thoughts and energies are focused on that problem. Oh, we have to give the problem our attention, but we should always keep our eyes on Jesus. Remember the line in “What a Friend We Have in Jesus?” Oh what peace we often forfeit. Oh what needless pain we bear! All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.
Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. But he kept his eyes on God. He trusted God regardless of what his situation looked like.
Joseph was taken captive to Egypt, thrown into prison, falsely accused - many, many years later he credited God with working all things together for good.
We could cite so many examples of God’s hand guiding, protecting, and providing for His people. We know God is good all the time - even when we don’t see what He’s doing. We trust Him.
Or at least I’m supposed to be trusting Him. I’m supposed to have already learned that lesson. So why is it that these are the thoughts that are running through my mind, convicting me, as I’m walking my dogs? Perhaps God knows that I am not quite there yet. So then He throws in the pièce de résistance. Do you know what the delectable smell was that so effectively pulled Pepper off his path to me? Coyote poop. Yep. Poop. How many things distract me completely from being at peace walking with my Master - and turn out to be dung? Just poop? Far too many, I’m afraid. They just turn out to be not even worthy of further consideration. But they sure managed to get my attention and take it off my Master in short order!
Maybe I’m just a slow learner. At some point in the near future, I’d like to be able to tell you that I am no longer distracted from the Master by what amounts to poop.