There's a coyote loose in our neighborhood. We live two minutes from Kroger, three from WalMart and four from Nick's school. What coyote is fearless enough to roam streets covered in cars and lined with homes? People warn us to keep the cats and dog in at night.
Sunday was our first experience with a Tornado warning in Arkansas and the people who went to church early that afternoon spent some time in the basement.
Yesterday a deer streaked through WalMart from Lawn and Garden all the way to the deli counter where he leaped over the display of meats and cheeses to find himself cornered next to a meat slicer.
Coyotes, tornadoes and shopping deer are new for the Nolands and we need to listen to those who know how to deal with emergencies like these. On the Gulf Coast we learned how to avoid sharks, hurricanes and mosquitoes, but staying out of the water at dawn and dusk and getting out of town when a hurricane reaches level three won't work for coyotes, tornadoes or deer with cravings for some fresh Colby.
Jesus called us sheep who need a Shepherd and branches who need a Vine. Sheep and branches. Dependent followers. Helpless and vulnerable on our own. Dead in the mouth of a predator or dried up on the ground without Christ to fill and lead us. We end up charging into meat slicers when we insist on acting independently from the One who knows how to deal with the day ahead.
It's past time to cling to the Shepherd. It's time to anchor ourselves into God's Word and let Him mature us for the new ways He'll lead us. If we persevere in "being still" in His Presence, allowing His Spirit to soothe us and His Love to change us, we'll bear much fruit. If we insist on living the rest of our lives independently, based on what we already know or on what worked before now, we'll fail and it's not a pretty picture. Besides, God is more creative than that.
Wear your camouflage, pack your binoculars, take a notepad and drive out to any vineyard to spy on the branches. Stay a while and keep a sharp eye out. Make a note of any rogue branches detaching themselves from the vine and flopping around looking for ways to speed up the process or searching for fruit to attach to themselves. They're doing it wrong.
Sovereign Lord God, You're the Power Source - help us stay plugged in. We wonder why we burn out, but it's obvious we're doing it wrong. Speak to our hearts and keep us from charging ignorantly into this day without Your direction. Strengthen us to persevere in remaining close to You. You know best and You know ahead and You care enough to prepare us. Bless Your Holy Name for loving us and for being and supplying everything we need. Use us however You choose today. Mature us and take us to the next level toward completion. We love You and we trust You.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in Him, He will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5
"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:4
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