The Leash

One experience that many of us go through is trying to figure out what Christ wants us to do with our lives. Maybe it isn't always trying to figure out what college to go to or what career to have, but trying to understand how God wants us to serve Him. I think most of us know that we are created with unique skills and purposes. The problem is that most of the time we aren't sure what to do even when we know these truths. So what happens most of the time? We wait. Wait and wait to see if God will finally tell us what our purpose in life is. One thing is for sure--this whole process can be frustrating!

Now, have you ever been around a dog or another animal that didn't want to do what you wanted it to do? That also gets very frustrating! Imagine someone pulling on a leash trying to get a dog to go where he wants the dog to go. Psalm 33:8-9 talks about how God wants to instruct us and guide us in love. It also warns us not to be like a horse or mule that needs to "be harnessed with bit and bridle" in order to be brought close to people. These things are often used to control horses. The bit is placed in the horse's mouth and the rider uses the reins connected to the bit and bridle to direct the horse where to go. Of course horses can't talk, but most of us humans can't talk with something in our mouths. I think God warns us not be like this because He doesn't want to directly control us. He wants to be able to talk to us.

Many times we just sit still waiting to find out what our purpose is and end up not doing anything. We can end up being like a stubborn mule that won't move until we know every detail of what God wants us to do. Instead, God wants to have an intimate friendship with us. He could easily force us to do what He wants, but He rather have us want to follow Him. When we get to know Christ for ourselves, we learn that we can trust Him and start to follow him in our everyday lives. Often, our purpose is to serve Jesus and when we simply serve Him, He leads us exactly to where we are supposed to be!

The Leash