Been a while since miss Elsa got herself on a freedom jog. She really had been doing wonderfully. Oh yes, we use the ‘shock’ collar because she needs those reminders…oh that’s right, I need to come, return, stop…so I will hear “good girl!”

Winter time makes it much easier to run back to the house, after all it’s cold out there! But spring has sprung and the wildlife is definitely showing more activity around our woods. Birds tweeting, rabbits hopping about, squirrels zipping around and boy a little girl naturally gets mighty curious about all these things that have started moving about.

We were out for a walk one morning and as we were finishing up and headed toward the house, (but back in the woods) I dropped her leash and asked her to come with me (redirecting our path.) Don’t you know I forgot the shock collar remote, but thought surely she would follow. I turned around and I couldn’t see her anywhere. Why this morning, when my husband was out of town? And now I would be late for work if she doesn’t show up quickly.

Fear began to arise, she always heads toward the road, a busy highway with traffic zooming 50-60 mph with people on their way to work and school. I really began to feel dread. My mind began to show me pictures of her mangled little body on the road and the tears began to flow. This has been my fear since the first couple times she ran from us and refused to come when called, ending up across the road in the neighbor’s yard. The the other time she was up the hill lickity split on a snow slick road. Man that girl can run.

I had so hoped that being almost seven she would quit her disobedient ways, ha! But isn’t that just like we can sometimes be? Oh, we have learned it isn’t healthy, wise, or right to do a thing and yet we can turn around and do it anyway…oh the sinful ways of man. As Paul tells us in Romans 7:15-20

I can get so confused with all this doing and not doing and falling backward into where I do not want to be!

• Do you ever struggle with doing what you know you shouldn’t?
• How about knowing what you should be doing but you don’t do it?

God has me on this trusting Him thing. And it started out being one of the hardest things to for me to engage in with Father. We say we trust God all the time right? We want to believe that He has us covered and that we are held in His hand. For me, I first had to believe in His sovereignty. That was a several year journey just knowing that God does what He wants and He orchestrates and allows it all, period. I had to accept that even the tough stuff was part of His plan to grow me more like Him! This was a shift I had to make to go forward in my walk with the Lord!

Then God introduced me to a little book, “Trust Without Borders” and a blogger, Arabah Joy, who helped me to begin that process of nailing the coffin on my fears. This became an amazing God journey for such a time as this! From God moving in the heart of my prodigal son to yup, even a stubborn little Schnauzer!

So as my stomach began to get a bit queasy and the time was ticking away to now 45 minutes and only God knew where she was, I heard that still small voice…”You are trusting me with you prodigal son aren’t you? Will you trust me with your dog?” Smack me right upside the head He did as He whispered those words to my heart. So I asked Him to forgive me and agreed with Him in trusting He would return her unharmed.

As hard as it was I headed back to the house and prayed for her to come home and then thanked Father for speaking to my heart in my hour of stress. Philippians 4:6,7 is definitely my mantra (which I seemed to forget in my panic!) so I continued with the familiar “Be anxious for nothing…” as I returned to the house to get ready for work.

As I was prepping for work I just kept saying Lord, I do trust you and I believe you have this all under control! Pretty soon I heard my mom (who lives with us) enter talking to someone. I went to see here usher in the panting Elsa! I of course was flooded with relief, scolded her and promptly took her down to her crate where she stayed secluded and alone till I came home for lunch.

You know, I have to admit that this trust thing can really get difficult, but I know that it is the right attitude I must have to proceed. Think about your most favorite true friend, could be husband, friend, parent, you know the person who you admire and look up to the most. Were you to look at that person and say “I don’t trust you” and then proceeded to behave as though you didn’t, how on earth would they feel and how would that affect your relationship? I think you are getting it!

How hurt is our God…the one who loves us beyond imagination only wanting His very best for us…when we say mostly by our actions that we don’t trust Him?

Well, as I shift my thinking about what it really means to trust the Lord, He has taken the liberty to test me and I am now okay with this. After all this is the God I promote. I let others know I trust Him and desire to obey Him and by so doing believe that He has my held in His hands and that only His best will come forth from each circumstance He takes me through. I will be able to walk into any situation and know that as I lean hard into all I know about Him, He will see me through the cancer, divorce, the financial collapse or loss of a loved one. I can trust my Abba Father!

Where are you at with trusting God?

Do you need to raise the bar on your trust level and really put in to practice what you believe about Him? Or will you waltz your way back into fear with all the reasons not to trust Him? Share on X Let me just put it this way…put Him to the test friend, you will never be disappointed, ever!