Ah, September – we welcome you along with the quiet we now enjoy in our homes, as the kids are back at school! A year older, a new grade, they march on to the beat of education.
Speaking of marching on and turning a year older, this month marks my dog Mac’s birthday. He turns nine and according to human years he will be 63 years old! Finally, I get to hand the title “the old man of the house” over to him. Congrats Mac. I was reminiscing of when he was a puppy and I began to teach him to go on walks with me. We lived at that time near a house that had two of those little yapping, poor excuse for dogs in Tower Grove Park. Mac was about 9 weeks old. I got him used to following me on his lead around the yard at first. Then when he was ready we started going out around the neighborhood. He did great until we came to the house with the two little yapping dogs. He would lower his head and begin to shake all over in fear. At 9 weeks he was bigger than both of them put together, but all he could hear was the shrill barking, he couldn’t see the dogs themselves. As we neared their yard, he would stop in his tracks, too afraid to move. I would lean down and gently remind him who he was. “Mac”, I would say, “You’re a Boerboel, king of dogs; your breed eats lions for breakfast”. If you look up the history of that breed you will find that they were bred to guard farmers in South Africa and they have been known to take out lions! Mac our dog didn’t realize yet who he was and what was in his DNA. I don’t know when it happened but one day, as we continued to go on walks around our neighbor-hood, he began to realize who he was, because now 9 years later that dog doesn’t fear anything. He advances towards anybody or anything that he perceives as being dangerous. Like David who ran towards the giant, Mac will attack the enemy! There is no retreat or fear in any of his bones. So I ask, when will we as God’s children wake up and realize who lives inside us? We are his children and we now have His DNA running through our veins! We need not fear the yapping (roaring) of the devil. For as I Peter 5: 8 says “…the devil as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.” When you hear the roar, don’t stand paralyzed in fear, but run toward the roar, for greater is He that is within you that the one who is roaring in this world! Today we live downtown and there have been big dogs barking and attempting to break free from their owner to try to fight Mac. He just completely ignores them, confident in who he is. Let’s walk in freedom from fear of the enemy for our God the lion of Judah lives inside us!
Walking without fear for I know who I am in Him,