My dog Lucky and I recently spent some time together at obedience school. I thought we were going so Lucky could learn something about minding me, but the instructor spent most of his time training me. He explained that even though Lucky was a great dog, he really did not know what was best for him. Without me, he will go places that are dangerous, stick his nose into places that are not healthy, and maybe even starve to death. So it is important for Lucky to know that obeying me will be the best thing for him.

Our instructor talked about the fact that Lucky must know the safest place in the world is at my side. He needs to know that I will protect him, provide for him, and care for him. His life is best when he follows and minds me. We spent most of our time helping me understand how to train Lucky to know these things. Lucky actually is doing very well after his training. And I learned about my relationship with God. I don’t think the instructor intended it to be that way, but it was.

I know my life is better with God. He will protect me, feed me, and care for me. I have tried to handle my own life and I end up in places that are not good for me. On my own, I realize that maybe I don’t know what is best for me. Life is hard. This world is scary, and there are so many things that I cannot control. Left on my own, I will mess things up. Even worse, when I mess them up, I can’t fix them.

So I need God. I need to follow Him. I need to obey Him. I need to learn that life works when I accept Him as my Master. I believe that to be true for all of us. God made us, knows us, loves us, and wants what is best for us. When I forget this, life gets more confusing and difficult. When I remember it, I find peace, joy, hope, and purpose.

Lucky learned his lesson: life is better when he obeys his Master. I learned my lesson too: life is better when I obey my Master. It can work for you too. If you want to visit about a life lived in obedience to God, write me at steve@hopeforlife.org or join the blog discussion at www.hopeforlife.org.

My dog Lucky gets it now. So do I.

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