Are you frustrated by not hearing God's voice? Do you think that the Lord is WAY out there with nothing to tell you? Or do you question His existence all together? Well, I'm here to tell you that He is a lot closer than many of us think He is. Our Heavenly Father is trying to tell us something, if we are open, and He has been speaking to us in ways that we may have never considered. "How?," you may ask. The Lord has always used the works of His hands to proclaim His great might. If you are wondering, you can see who the Lord is, just by looking out of your window, or by taking a drive though your state, county, province, or country. Have you ever seen pictures of the deepest crevasses of the ocean where life still takes hold? If so, you have just seen a picture of God's depth as a person and how many layers there are to his character. If you have ever driven by the Colorado Rockies you have just witnessed the jagged strength that the Lord posses; His unfathomable power. One only needs to review the aftermath of Mount St. Helens for them to grasp God's righteous anger. The Apostle Paul spoke of these evidences of God in Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." God is not out there watching without love, but is constantly reaching out to speak to all of His children through the works of His hands. David Smith has assembled a number of contributors to share their experiences of their pets and what they had learned of God. From faith to faithfulness, we uncover the messages laid out from the Lord. Laugh your stress away with animal misadventures, such as this one: I think our cat has a love affair with a portable heater. It may sound crazy, but it's completely true. Almost any chance she gets, she's face first in front of the heater, "catching some sun," as Buffy and I like to call it. She even lies in front of the heater in anticipation of it being turned on. Our Bling is obsessed! One day, she got a little too close to her best friend and the whiskers on the right side of her face were singed badly. I would have thought she would have given the heater a rest after leaving the right side of her face smoldering, however, she returned to her love, regardless of the dangers. "Isn't this just like me," I thought, "after getting too close to sin and getting burned, I go back for more pain." I don't think it's just me that has walked on the hot coals of sin only to turn around and walk on that fiery path again, but I'm sure everyone has been there and wears the t-shirt. Proverbs 26:11 describes this perfectly, "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness." Now I don't know about you, but going back to eating my puke is not too appetizing. Vomit has nasty chunks in it, smells, and, well, that pretty much describes it, but sin generally has the same appearance, but only to the trained eye. When I lie, it's to protect myself in the moment from an argument, or being hurt, but what I'm not always seeing is the damage it's doing to my heart and to my relationship with the Lord. When I go back to sin, whatever that sin is, it leaves a nasty vomit aftertaste in my heart, and this aftertaste becomes a barrier between me and the Lord. God wants to be close to his children, but if the smell of vomit is emanating our heart, then He may not want to come too close. As believers, we ought to keep our hearts cleaned up so that we are ready to be in the Lord's presence. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." So let's watch what we see, say, and do because God is just waiting to have a deeper relationship with us! So let David Smith and friends take you down a path of experiencing God through a whole new way, your pets! Job proclaimed in the Old Testament, "But ask the animals and they will teach you, or the bird of the air and they will tell you." You will be surprised by what your dog or cat can teach you about God. Perhaps God is trying to speak to you through your parakeet? Go ahead. Curl up in your kitty beds and lock your doggy doors to prepare yourself for this new adventure.
Author Biography
David Smith is a former minister of Eden Chapel, Cambridge, spent many years in service in mission in the rainforests of eastern Nigeria, and has also been Co-Director of the Whitefield Research Institute, Oxford, and Senior Research Fellow at the International Christian College, Glasgow. He is currently Honorary Lecturer in the School of Divinity, Philosophy and History at the University of Aberdeen. He has written eight other books including Mission After Christendom.
