by Danielle
We have a sweet little puppy. Sometimes he is a little stubborn, but we have been working on his training. One of the first things we taught him was how to “stay”. Through watching some youtube videos, I learned that there are three parts to teaching “stay”: duration, distance, and distraction. We can apply these three things to our relationship with Jesus Christ.
First, you must teach your dog to stay for a duration of time. You must teach him to “stay” the entire time you want him to, not just for a few seconds. Is your relationship with Jesus just a whim? Or are you in it for the long run? Jesus said, “the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24: 12-13).
After your puppy learns to stay for a duration of time, you must add distance to the equation. You must teach him to stay even when you move away from him. Sometimes it feels like God is distant from us when we are waiting for answers to prayer and He seems to be silent. Even King David struggled with this feeling in Psalm 13:1 “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” During these times we can trust that God is growing our faith and building our ability to “stay” at peace. “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.” (Psalm 62:1-2).
Finally, when your puppy is ready, you can teach him to stay even when there are distractions around him. He may want to run after a rabbit or squirrel, but he must develop the self-control to “stay” when he is told. There are so many distractions in this world that fight for our attention. It is easy to quickly take our eyes off the LORD and worry about the many stresses all around us. Psalm 46 reminds us to “Be still and know that I am God!” even in the midst of earthquakes, destruction, crumbling kingdoms, storms, and war. Hebrew 12:2 says that “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
As God strengthens your relationship with Him, expect to be tested in the areas of duration, distance, and distraction.
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