Have you ever seen a puppy that just made you overflow with emotion?
There you are, minding your own business when the cutest puppy you have ever seen crosses your path. Soft cuddly fur. Big floppy ears. Tripping over its own feet. Excited about everything. You just can’t help it. You drop everything just so that you can be with it. Hold it. Pet it. Scoop it up and let it kiss your cheeks. Maybe you even catch a whiff of that “puppy breath” that is sweeter than the sweetest smelling perfume. The puppy has filled you to the brim with joy, with wonder, with awe. You suddenly speak “puppy talk”….you know that high-pitched excited voice. “Who’s the good wittle fella? Who’s such a good boy? You want a treat? Oh, I’d give you so many treats if I had any with me! I just want to hold you and squeeze you and love you! You’re sooooooooooo cute!!!”
Ever experienced that? Do puppies make you act that way?
Not me.
Not at all.
Call me names. Question my character. Judge me. But in all honesty, I don’t get terribly excited about puppies. Sure, they’re cute. Sure, they can be a blessing to people. Sure, they are way better than kittens (personal opinion here…again I recognize that I am opening myself up for some criticism). Still, they just don’t evoke such emotions for me. They don’t get me all excited. I see the puppy. Maybe I pet the puppy. Maybe. Probably not. Then, I move on…thankful that I’m not the one who will be responsible for teaching the puppy how to refrain from doing its business on my carpet. I’m not anti-puppies. I don’t harbor some deep-seated angst concerning puppies. They just don’t cause the same emotional response in me that happens for others, and that’s OK. As far as I can tell, there is no Biblical mandate that we all must become oooeey-goooeeey when a puppy is introduced. Personal preference in this matter is permitted. Puppies are puppies, and in my opinion they are fine. I know. I’m a cold-hearted monster.
Still, I will say that I thank God for puppies.
I thank God for the way that puppies can bring people joy. I thank God for the way that puppies can bring people hope. I thank God for the way a puppy can brighten up someones day who would otherwise be rather down in the dumps and depressed. I thank God for puppies, and I appreciate them…even if I don’t do a backflip each time I see one. I thank God for puppies because they are a small reminder of the goodness of our God. They are a small symbol of the hope we have in Jesus.
Recently, I’ve written a couple of devotionals that have focused on things that maybe aren’t the cutest of creatures in God’s creation. You know. Rodents and parasites. Not the most pleasant of topics, but they made a point about our spiritual walk. We are in a spiritual battle, and there are things that can attack us and attach to us that seek to sap our spiritual strength, that seek to drain life from us. This is reality, and we can’t just ignore it. It is far better to be prepared and to face this reality head-on with the truth. It is good for us to know that we are in a battle. It is good for us to recognize things in our life that are detrimental to our spiritual health. But do you know what is even better?
Knowing that the war has been won.
Knowing that there is victory.
Knowing that there is hope, even in the face of despair.
Knowing that the light triumphs over the darkness.
Knowing that we serve such a great and mighty Lord that even death could not contain Him, the grave could not hold him.
Knowing that life wins, and that we are offered this life through Jesus.
Yes, the battle is real.
Yes, the struggle is legitimate.
Yes, there is ugliness that reminds us of the brokenness of creation.
Yes, there are dark and evil things that seek our destruction.
No, we cannot escape the fight.
No, everything will not always be easy.
No, the ugliness has not completely covered that which is beautiful and good.
No, the dark and evil things will not always win.
There is hope. There is truth. There is light. There is faith. There are puppies. There is Jesus.
I thank God for puppies.
Puppies can serve as a reminder of goodness, of light, of truth, of hope. Puppies can enter into a situation that is dark and gloomy and can turn that situation right around.
Puppies can point to the loving and caring nature of our Creator.
Puppies can be bringers of joy, of laughter, of love.
So, I thank God for puppies…even if I never speak in “puppy voice.”
In one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, look at what he says:
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
~2 Corinthians 4:8-10
Or, how about these words from Jesus:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
~John 16:33
In both of these passages, there is a recognition of the reality of this world that we inhabit. There are problems. There is pain. There is heartache. There are troubles. This is part of life, but this is not the entire picture. Hard pressed…yes, but not crushed. Perplexed…yes, but not in despair. Persecuted…yes, but not abandoned. Struck down…yes, but not destroyed. Troubles in the world…yes, but Jesus has overcome!
Within our lives, God leaves reminders of His goodness, reminders of his grace, reminders of his blessings, reminders of the hope that we have in the Lord.
Puppies can be such a reminder. (So can kittens…even if I don’t like them as much.) Sunrises, sunsets, blooming flowers, soft breezes, singing birds, babies laughing, waterfalls, forest trails, fall leaves, gently falling snow, blue skies, fluffy clouds, friendly smiles, on and on and on and on. There are so many reminders that God places around us to whisper to us that He is good, that He is with us, and that the ultimate victory belongs to Jesus.
Sometimes, we just need to remember to stop, to rejoice over the puppies, and to thank Jesus.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the battle, so bogged down by the struggle, so occupied by the things that aren’t going well that we completely bypass those things that are good. Sometimes we get so caught up in the fight that we forget about the victory. Sometimes we get so focused on the parasite that we forget about the puppies.
So, friend, I encourage you. Be aware of both. Remember the battle, recognize that we are in a war, but know who has achieved the victory and remember that the battle belongs to the Lord. Fight off the parasites but don’t forget about the puppies.
We’ve spent some time in the past talking about some of the ways to battle against the icky stuff. Today, I want to encourage you to take the battle a step further by focusing on that which is good. Yesterday may have been about the parasites. Today is about the puppies. So, take a moment, today, to focus on the blessings of God.
Catch a sunset. Set an early alarm for a sunrise. Take a stroll down your favorite path. Call up an old friend. Listen to some good music. Enjoy a cool glass of unsweetened ice tea. Pet a puppy.
Take a moment today to realize that though we may be hard pressed, we are not crushed. Though we may be perplexed, we are not in despair. Though we may be persecuted, we are not abandoned. Though we may be struck down, we are not destroyed. Though we may have troubles in this world, Jesus has overcome!
~ Pastor Chris
