Go, Dog, Go!

 

So

"Do you like my hat?" ~Dr. Seuss- from Go, Dog, Go!

🐕Did you hear the unbelievably brave story of the farm dog named Casper who fought off 11 coyotes while guarding a flock of sheep?  He recovered and is back at work, winning an award of a year of free dog food and $5000!  Hope he gets a comfy new bed!

Conan, a special forces dog, chased a dangerous ISIS leader down a dead end tunnel, resulting in the man's capture.  

🐕 Scientists have evidence that monks kept St. Bernards in the Swiss Alps, who helped rescue people stranded after snowstorms because of their 'uncanny sense of direction and resistance to cold.'  One specific dog is memorialized in a museum in Switzerland because of the lives he saved.

A Louisiana dog rescued from Hurricane Katrina as a pup helped carry buckets of water to people who had none after Hurricane Sandy.

🐕 A 2-year old was missing for 4 hours but his family's faithful Australian Shepherd stayed by his side guarding him until he was found. 

🐕What is it about dogs and their loyalty, earning them the title "man's best friend"?  Is it the devotion they show by wagging their tails every time you speak to them, or come to the door at the end of the day-so excited to see us?  How do they have an innate ability to rescue?

In addition to their superpower of never growing tired of seeing their human, or chasing a ball over and over, dogs as pets can help decrease stress, & even help kids with social/emotional skills.  They provide protection, companionship, life-saving tasks, tracking skills,  and just plain humor - I mean, take a look at this video.          

🐕I love that God decided to make dogs, and He made over 360 breeds of them.  (I don't love as much that He made cats, but that's another blog I guess.  Apparently, I suffer from ailurophobia).   I love His provision of companionship through animals, dating all the way back to the Garden.  

Take a minute and think of the things our Lord has provided for you with this day/this week/this month.  Jot it down on a sticky note, and I bet when you start listing you soon will need a bigger piece of paper.  

🐕As I rolled out of bed this morning, He provided me with an uneventful night's sleep, in a nice warm bed, next to my husband who isn't frightened by the way I look, under my warm, protective house.  I took my hot coffee into my quiet time space where He provided me with His Word, and the freedom to have it, read it, and worship at will.  And I have a dog & granddog who love me.

This is all in the first 15 minutes of the day!  

We worship Jehovah-Jireh, first named this is Genesis 22:14, after God provided a ram when Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac.

"And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh; 

as it is said to this day, in the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen." KJV

Another version might explain this further:

"So Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh-Yireh (which 

means "The Lord will provide").  To this day, people still use that 

name as a proverb: "On the mount of the LORD it will be provided." ESV

Provision is an attribute of God.  He doesn't just provide for us, as He did for Abraham, in our physical needs, but He fills our hearts and souls completely since He created us and knows us better than we know ourselves.  He desires the best for us to become perfectly complete, and has the power to fulfill it.  Abraham knew this about God.

The ultimate fulfilment of providing for our need is our eternity with Him in heaven.  He knew from the beginning that our sin would separate us from Him, and provided the sacrifice in His precious sinless Son Jesus to atone for our sins so we could be reconciled back to Him.  

Hark! The herald angels sing!  God and sinners reconciled!  Celebrate this season by thanking Him for providing for us.  He is Jehovah-Jireh.

✙ Our Jehovah-Jireh, we come to You in gratitude for the Provision You always generously and willingly give to us.  Forgive us for fretting about whether or not we'll be taken care of, or trying to fill those needs ourselves in some other way.  We marvel at the desire You have to complete us with Your good work. You are our God Who Provides.  Amen.