When Jack Came Running

There’s a large field next to the seafront where our dog, Jack, loves to go running. He has run up and down the rows of wheat, jumping over the rows until they became too high, then he would zoom up and down through any gaps he could find. The other day he was thoroughly enjoying this zooming experience. Every now and again he would lift his head above the rows of wheat to look at me. “Good boy, Happy Jack,” I would call out, causing him to run again, showing off his great speed to my continued praise. During this escapade he happened to run further and further away from me. I saw him poke his head above the shafts of wheat but he didn’t see me. I watched to see what he would do. The smile on his face had faded. His searching eyes filled with some alarm; but wait, he sees me again! Oh happy day! He runs closer once more, tongue hanging out, ears flying back. He is happily near me, and the praises of his zooming abilities continue.

I surmised that this is how we are, at times, in our relationship with God. We are happy, running in His presence, listening for His voice which fills us with gladness. Then, in our exuberance, we are becoming so busy in our personal pursuits, that we have stepped away from Him. It wasn’t an outright sin. We just got totally absorbed in what we were doing. Life provides endless opportunity to get caught up in busyness that pushes time with our Heavenly Father towards the back door.

When that happens we begin to feel a restlessness. Something isn’t quite right. We raise our head above our piles of busyness and look around. Oh! There He is! The Lord is waiting with tenderness in His eyes. We run to Him again, and His arms stretch out to hug and soothe and to encourage us in our pursuits once more. Our purposes are always more fun-filled and fulfilling, too, when we take care to always run near the Shepherd, close enough to easily hear His voice when He says, “This is the way, now walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21 NIV).

May your every pursuit be God-led, God-blessed, and always in the nearness of His presence. There is no other place to be that can bring a greater joy.