It's been a great morning! God has been giving me so many things to write about. So much that I was a little late getting out the door to take my kids to school. I just couldn't stop typing. Thankfully my kids are used to getting to school just at the bell (...I know... I'm working on that!) and they are such troopers! Gotta love 'em!
Anyway, I had to make a quick run to the bank before I headed home. And often I'll stop at the little park on the way home to have my Bible time before I get started with my day. I decided not to do that today. Which was fine because I wouldn't have been listening to the radio this morning. I heard such a great message... it was one of those quick 5 minute messages, but it was packed! Exactly what I needed to hear.
The speaker (wish I could remember who is was) said that his father used to say
"Dogs don't bark at parked cars!"
What does
that mean?...
Well... he went on to say that as long as we do nothing, there is no opposition. If you are doing nothing, going nowhere, stagnant... then no one cares. They have no reason to oppose you or disagree with what you are saying or doing.
But once we start
moving, all the 'barking' begins. We are met with opposition. People who tell us we'll fail, we won't succeed. People who say we're waisting our time.
Often I'd be doing just what I know God called me to and I'd be happy doing it... and then someone would come and offer their 'opinion' as to what I
should be doing. Or how they would do it. Or how I could do it better. Sometimes they even tell me that what I'm doing just doesn't work... when it really does. Or maybe I just shouldn't do it at all.
Sometimes the 'barking' gets so loud that I can't ignore it... I begin to listen... and I slow down. As I back off of what I should be doing, the 'barking' decreases. Life becomes a little quieter. I begin to savor the quiet. So I slow down some more... until I STOP doing what the Lord has led me to do. And that's when I begin to feel like a failure. Why? Because I took my focus off of God, and put it instead on the opposition.
Remember what it was like to learn how to ride a bike? Most likely your parents (or whoever taught you) were telling you to keep peddling... you can do it. And they were right. You did it. But then as you gained your confidence... here come the 'dogs'! Did you do anything wrong? No. You did it right. Just like you were supposed to. But here they came barking at you anyway. It's was tempting to look back and pay attention to them. I mean... did you see the size of those teeth! But you didn't. You kept looking ahead for fear of falling off your bike... and becoming a snack. You stayed focused.
And that's what we need to do. Stay focused on God and what He's called us to do. Let me encourage you to keep going. Keep doing what you're called and gifted to do. No matter what anyone says. The only one we need to please is God. We need to keep our focus on Him.
Are there gifts and talents that God has given you but you don't use them because of all the 'barking'? The opposition? Other people's opinions? USE THEM! Don't let yourself become stagnant. Let God use you!
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Mary Ann :)
