Last week we came home to find that our dog, Buster, (who is a Jack Russell) had been quilled by a porcupine. With our cat recently dying, the last thing we needed was more pet drama. Peyton was still sleeping in the truck but Jayden was awake. When I saw the dog I was terrified (it was dark, I was half sleeping and something with spikes was coming at me inches from my leg) and I jumped up and ran across the room. Randy turned on the light to see what my problem was and laughed when he saw our dog. Although the dog did look rather ridiculous, I did not see the humor at that moment because I was at a point where I was thinking “OKAY God could anything else possibly go wrong?” Jayden, who is easily alarmed, sat up, saw Buster, saw her mother (not in a good mom moment) and screamed! She was terrified…with good reason! Then Peyton woke up. Randy tried to prepare him but it was no use. He screamed “ewwww” and continued crying. I was finally able to get the kids settled down after Randy took the dog outside to begin getting the quills out. I was just beginning to get a grip when Randy came back in the house and insisted I had come to the door immediately. There stood Callie, our Boxer, covered in quills and in much worse shape than Buster. I tried to be calm but I was so far beyond calm at this point that I don’t have words for what I felt. I was even afraid to question God on whether or not anything else could go wrong. I knew we were in for a long night.
Randy and I were able to remove all of Buster’s quills, we counted about 150. We then began working on Callie’s but knew we wouldn’t be able to do it all on our own. We removed the quills from around her eyes, ears, paws, and got her as comfortable as possible given the situation until we could take her to the vet the next morning. We worked until 4 a.m. and then called it quits. If you know what a boxer is, you know all the extra folds of skin around their lips. The quills were covering every part of her lips and even her mouth, tongue, and in her throat. It was the most incredible, indescribable thing I have ever seen. In the morning I took her to the vet where they put her to sleep to remove the quills. I’m not an expert but they told me that a normal porcupined dog has 100 or less quills. Occasionally they’ll get a bad case which is around 300. They said our dog had close to 1,000 quills that they removed on top of the many that Randy and I removed at home.
It will take time to know if all the quills are out and to make sure none become abscessed. Right now both dogs are recovering well and back to their normal selves for the most part.
God has taught me a great deal through this. The past few weeks have been a struggle for me and for us as a family. I literally felt like my poor dog looked. I wonder how she felt walking home that night? Embarrassed, hurt, in severe pain and helpless. I bet she wondered how in the world we were ever going to get her out of the mess she was in. But she came home, she came to Dad and Mom, who she knew held her only hope of surviving. Satan has been attacking us and me from every angle and so painfully. Through my family, through my thoughts, me as a parent, as a wife, as a friend, as a daughter, my organizing, our finances, I mean - you name it, he has been attacking it. This incident with the dogs was the icing on top (not good icing on top of a not good cake). Friday afternoon as I sat in the parking lot waiting to pick up Callie, I prayed. For days before that I had been discouraged, questioning everything, confused, and I just felt helpless. This day in the car I felt like I had reached the point where I could do nothing, I couldn’t even think (which for me…just doesn’t happen). As I prayed I began to realize the attack Satan had been putting on me and how unprepared for that I was. Like I said, I literally felt like how Callie looked. In that moment in the car, I had to trust God completely and fully to bring me out of the pit I was in.
I found encouragement and answers in the beginning of Nehemiah. Nehemiah finds that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed and begins to rebuild it.
“You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” vs. 3:17 As they began, opposition rose up against the rebuilding. “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble - burned as they are?”” vs. 4:1-2 “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.” vs. 4:6
In verses 4:7-12 we find out that when Sanballat and the people of Ashdod heard about the repairs made to the wall they “…were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir trouble up against it.” vs. 4:7-8. I believe that the good and righteous works that we do are helping to build Christ’s kingdom. Therefore when we are reaching out to meet others needs, telling people of the Risen Savior, preaching, ministering, helping, loving, doing our best to live righteously in our homes, our families, our churches, our communities, these are all a part of re-building that Kingdom wall. When Satan see this it makes him very angry and he plots to fight against our works and to stir up trouble among us. So what do we do to prevent this? How can we assure this doesn’t happen to us?
“Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places…with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said…”Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your people, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” vs. 4:13-14
1) They found the exposed places, the weak areas, and they put protection in place. We need to be aware of the areas where we are weakest. These are the cracks Satan sneaks in when we aren’t looking. Know these areas and pray God’s truth over them, ask Him for protection, for guidance and for Strength in your weakness.
2) They remembered the Lord. We need to be fully aware of our God and how great and awesome He is. It is He who’s side we are on…nothing and no one can stand against us.
3) They fought for their people, their sons, their daughters, their wives and their homes. The moment you stand back, the enemy is ready to seize that opportunity. Fight for your families, for your sons, your daughters, your friends, your spouse, your home. Fight for God to move in your church, your school, and your work place. We are God’s army and that’s an honorable position to be in, we need not take it lightly.
“When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work. From that day on, half my men did work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked.” vs. 4:15-18
4) They returned to their work. How often do we get attacked by the enemy and pause our work or stop it completely?
5) They knew their job and they did it - some were builders, some were equipped with spears, etc, and some were officers standing behind all the people building. What a mess this would have been if these men would try to take on a different role than the one they were assigned. We, as Christ’s disciples need to know who we are in Him, know what He calls us to do and do it. Some of us are called to be up front preaching, some leading the worship team, others cooking for a hospitality meal, most to be the force of private prayer that moves mountains and more. When we know our calling, we need to do it, and nothing else, follow His will and His plan, be His disciple…period.
6) They did their work with one hand and carried a weapon in the other. This is so important - hear it. While we are working to build the Kingdom we need to put on the Armor of God.
“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:10-17
“So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.” Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.” vs. 4:21-23
7) They never let their guard down. Even when doing a simple task, such as going for water, they always had their weapon. Whether God has you in front of a crowd or at home spending time with your family, you need to always be on guard against the enemy.
It is so important in this world we live in to be aware of our enemy. Satan is creative and he doesn’t always come with a bang, usually he enters through the ever so small cracks in our foundations. We need to always be filling ourselves with God’s Truth in His Word and guarding our hearts with all vigilance (Proverbs 4:23). We need to seek God and His will for our lives. Ask God to reveal to you how you can apply His Armor to your life. Ask Him to make you aware of any cracks in your foundation that you may have left unnoticed. Read Nehemiah and look at this story for yourself. You are part of building Christ’s kingdom, know your place, get to work, and carry your weapon.
No comments:
Post a Comment