One Glitch

Since moving to our new home a new family member joined the Craig team.  Weighing in at 3.3 pounds, red curly fur and big brown eyes, our little teacup poodle wiggled its way into each of our hearts.  I long for the moment to sit down and have her rest peacefully in my lap.  Never being a dog owner, I did not realize how they become another family member and love overflows for them. 

Her brilliance amazes as she learns new tricks and rules quickly.  My son taught her how to fetch a ball within minutes.  I taught her to come in from outside and sit on a rug made to clean dog’s feet until receiving a treat.  Also, the moment I say, “Go watch for the kids,” she runs to the door awaiting a big yellow bus to come down our street.  The instant yellow catches her eye; she jumps a foot off the floor in excitement to have them home again.  When bedtime rolls around she prances directly to her bed and lies down.  Dogs act humanlike in various ways.

One glitch appears in her brilliant streak. . .she cannot discern real from fake.  One day I turned quickly as she began barking wildly in the kitchen (she does not bark often).  I found her in front of the oven barking continuously with an occasional growl thrown in there.  She caught site of her reflection on the oven door and believed it to be another dog in our home.  Forgot to mention, she despises other dogs and animals.  We will be watching TV and a commercial with animals airs and she goes crazy barking.  The most worked up I have seen is when a cat appeared on TV.  She fears the other animal is creeping into her territory and immediately goes on defense.  Our response is, “Silly puppy, it isn’t real.”  Yet every time, it occurs.  She cannot realize the images are just that, images, not real.  Could this be one of those humanlike characteristics? . . .

Oh, so often in life we experience this same glitch.  FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real.  We fear a variety of things, leading to worry which consumes every waking moment.  Worry steals joy creating a foothold for the enemy to grab hold of our spirit.  Bondage halts life and we begin to lose sight of His plan.  A snowball effect beginning with one little glitch: inability to discern real from fake. 

Fear sneaks in my thoughts often.  It comes when thinking about the future, venturing into larger crowds, saying yes to God’s plan, beginning a project or making a decision.  The basis for fear consuming me is failure.  “What if I fail?”  No one wants to fail at anything.  I fear failure, therein disappointing loved ones, possibly losing their acceptance of me.  As the devil works to destroy my spirit, I put on the armor of God and feed Truth into the situation.  Realizing the thought of failure is just that, a thought, not real leads to freedom from the enemy’s hold. 

Our little puppy barks ferociously at images on the TV all the while backing up and running to me for comfort.  As I ease her mind that the images are not real and no dog/cat/animal invades her territory she calms.  As I hold her convincing it will all be okay she stops barking.  And as she sees the images disappear she believes what I said.

Each time we fear, we must run.  Not run from a situation per say but run to the One Who will comfort and speak Truth into every situation.  He will hold us tightly eliminating one worry at a time.  He will show us love, provide strength and see us through any situation.  Our faith grows through each hardship as we lean on Him Who will destroy the devil’s hold on the situation.  We can then clearly discern real from fake and understand the direction we should take. 

Thank You God for providing Truth to combat fear creeping into our lives.

Keep praying harder than the devil can work.

Sheree Craig