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Make Sure You’ve Got Some Back Up!
One morning recently I took our little Terrier mix outside for her morning walk, and I noticed three strays at the bottom of the long drive—about fifty yards away. I kept my eyes on them, because I thought they might be interested in the tiny dog I had in my arms. I sat Gabi on the ground, all the while watching the strays.
One of them barked in our direction, and they all three started toward us. They probably just wanted to say “Good Morning,” but I wasn’t taking any chances. I yelled toward them “Git!” which is “Southern” for “Get away!” They stopped, but the lead dog continued to bark at us. I yelled “Git!” again, and two of the dogs took off running. The lead dog stood his ground, continuing to bark.
Then a strange and rather humorous thing happened. The one remaining stray turned his head to look behind him, to look at the other two strays which were with him. But they weren’t there! When he noticed that the other dogs had left him and that he was alone, he too began to run as if his tail had been set on fire. I couldn’t help but laugh.
But then I realized that this was a picture of the approach that so many people take toward life. We go up against whatever the challenge or problem is, and we bark at it with all our might. We use all our resources and ingenuity. But when we finally turn to look for help, we realize with a start that we don’t have any back up! We have built our lives on the wrong foundations and depended on the wrong things. And when we need them, we find that they could never have supported us to start with.
How important it is for us to build the proper foundation for our lives! Jesus told us how: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25, NIV).
When troubles come, make sure you have the proper foundation for your life. Or, as the stray dog would say, “Make sure you’ve got some back up!”
--Rocky Henriques, www.timothyreport.com
