Articles
God's Ways Are Not Our Ways
As I looked at the blood dripping down my finger, I realized I needed to come up with a plan B. I was attempting to put one of our cats, Korrie, a nearly full-grown, female stray that had adopted us, into a cat carrier for a trip to the vet. Her violent reaction was totally unanticipated. I tried desperately to hold onto her. As scared as she was, I thought that if I let her go, I would never be able to catch her again and we needed to leave soon for our appointment. She escaped and ran frantically back into the barn.
Plan B consisted of a few bandaids, a beach towel, and a large clothes hamper with a lid. Fortunately I was able to get close enough to Korrie to wrap her up in the towel and easily deposited her into the clothes hamper. I closed the lid and tied it tightly. The hamper had an open weave pattern, so there was plenty of ventilation. :) I did receive a few odd looks as I entered the vet's office with my unique cat carrier.
On our way home I thought about how the cat that I had rescued and cared for, had turned against me. The cat could not understand that what I was doing was for her own good. Maybe you've had similar experiences with your animals. Our pony, Ebony, used to be terrified of the vet when it was time for her to get her shots. As humans our thinking is at a higher level than our pets. We can understand that sometimes things that hurt us or situations that take us out of our comfort zone are necessary because of the long-term benefits.
If we could just become a cat or a horse for a brief time, we could explain these situations in a way that our animals could understand. Isn't the same true of our relationship with God? His thoughts are far above our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. (Isa 55:9)
The difference is that God was able to come down to our level. Although we cannot become a cat or a horse, God became a man, Jesus Christ, in order to communicate fully with us.
The next time you find God placing you in a challenging situation, are you going to react like Korrie - biting, kicking, and scratching in a frantic attempt to avoid what God has planned for you? Or are you going to cooperate with God and see what it is you need to learn from this new trial?
Plan B consisted of a few bandaids, a beach towel, and a large clothes hamper with a lid. Fortunately I was able to get close enough to Korrie to wrap her up in the towel and easily deposited her into the clothes hamper. I closed the lid and tied it tightly. The hamper had an open weave pattern, so there was plenty of ventilation. :) I did receive a few odd looks as I entered the vet's office with my unique cat carrier.
On our way home I thought about how the cat that I had rescued and cared for, had turned against me. The cat could not understand that what I was doing was for her own good. Maybe you've had similar experiences with your animals. Our pony, Ebony, used to be terrified of the vet when it was time for her to get her shots. As humans our thinking is at a higher level than our pets. We can understand that sometimes things that hurt us or situations that take us out of our comfort zone are necessary because of the long-term benefits.If we could just become a cat or a horse for a brief time, we could explain these situations in a way that our animals could understand. Isn't the same true of our relationship with God? His thoughts are far above our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. (Isa 55:9)
The difference is that God was able to come down to our level. Although we cannot become a cat or a horse, God became a man, Jesus Christ, in order to communicate fully with us.
The next time you find God placing you in a challenging situation, are you going to react like Korrie - biting, kicking, and scratching in a frantic attempt to avoid what God has planned for you? Or are you going to cooperate with God and see what it is you need to learn from this new trial?