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“Woof!”
By Susanne Scheppmann
Key
Verse:
Proverbs
8:33-34, “Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is
the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
(NIV)
Devotion:
Woof! I thought I heard one small bark. Not sure, I
turned the shower off for a moment. No, I couldn’t hear my little dog yapping.
Jasmine is a twelve-pound black and white Shih Tzu and a yapper. If anyone
knocks on the door, she goes crazy barking like a hundred pound Rottweiler. I turned the water back on, stuck my head
under the spray, and reached for the shampoo bottle.
However, a voice inside
my wet head nudged me. You heard her bark. Something is up. A realtor
could be showing the house! Our home had been on the market for almost a
year. About once or twice a week, various realtors would bring a potential
buyer to walk through the house. However, it was stipulated that they must call
first. The “woof” replayed
through my thoughts. Maybe Jasmine doesn’t bark at people coming
in anymore. Quickly, I turned the water off again.
I jumped out on to the
cold tile floor. To my horror, I heard voices. My bedroom door was wide open. I
raced toward the door dripping water along the way. However, it was too late.
The realtor along with a husband and wife previewed me along with my bedroom.
They saw crisp floral drapes and soft beige carpet, and then they spied
cellulite and flab jiggling toward them, reaching out for the blue tattered
robe hanging behind the door. I almost slid into their arms as I crossed the
wet tile. With wide-eyed shock, they scurried from the house without a word.
I collapsed on a rug
with laughter and tears. Jasmine came by to lick me dry. She looked at me as if
to say, “Hey, I warned you, but you didn’t listen!”
Eventually my heart
stopped pounding and my red face returned to its normal color. After the
initial mortification, I began to wonder how often I do not listen when the
Holy Spirit speaks to me. How many times have I shrugged it off as just my
imagination? Jesus said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of
everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26 NIV) I need to learn to listen to
His instruction and be wise, not to ignore Him as I did with Jasmine’s first
“woof.”
The next time I feel a
nudge from God, I will remember my “woof” incident. I plan on listening and
moving a lot quicker than I did. I do not want to repeat the lesson I learned
today.
Oh, I never heard back
from the potential buyers. I guess they didn’t care for the preview.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, how often have I not listened to Your
voice when You warned me of something in my life? Today, I ask that You help me
to listen to your instruction and to be wise. Thank you for giving me the Holy
Spirit to teach me. Let me become a quick learner. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application
steps:
Read
Proverbs 8. Write down the advantages given for learning to listen and applying
God’s wisdom in your life.
Reflections:
Do
I sometimes intentionally ignore God’s voice?
How
could listening to the Holy Spirit help guide me each day?
What
does the term wisdom mean to me?
Power
verses:
John
10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
(NIV)
Proverbs
23:23, “Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and
understanding.” (NIV)
Ephesians
1:17, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious
Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know
him better.” (NIV)
© 2007 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.
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