Devotions for Dog Lovers - God Helps Us Change Bad Habits
€And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.€ Matthew 6:13
Our springer spaniel Mary is very intelligent; she learns words quickly. Mary is also very friendly, wagging her stub of a spaniel tail and sashaying her rear-end when visitors come to the house. She is also attuned to people's moods and she lays her head upon a knee when she feels someone needs comfort. Mary is also food motivated, and that gets her into trouble sometimes. She has a bad habit of €grazing€ from the counter and from the table when no one is guarding the plates and platters. We have scolded her, and we have suspended her from the room, but her persistence doesn't waver - she falls into the bad habit again the next day... sometimes the very next meal!
Training is supposed to curb a dog's bad behavior. We have considered aluminum foil across the kitchen counter, but Mary isn't afraid of noise. Mouse traps could be another deterrent, but we're not into corporal punishment (although I have swatted her rear-end at times upon catching her €grazing€). Just like with people, changing a dog's bad habits can be quite challenging.
I like Ding Dongs - I rejoiced when Hostess Cakes made a comeback. However, those sweet treats don't like me €¦ at least when it comes to piling on the pounds. As a middle-aged woman with slow metabolism, the bad habit of eating a box of Ding Dongs in a day is detrimental. Oreo cookies aren't much better (the ones with €double-stuff€ are fairly lethal weight-management wise!). Yet, I binge on these €bad for you foods€ on occasion and I don't like myself much afterward. Eating junk food is a bad habit I developed while working at a very stressful job and now that habit has me in a headlock. Just like Mary's €grazing€ has ramifications, so does my €binging.€ I guess you could say my dog and I are both food motivated.
Yet, there is help. Sometimes we need the assistance of others, sometimes we simply need God. Scripture tells us, €No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it€ (1 Corinthians 10:13). With the help of loved ones, the Lord, and great resolve, our bad habits can be broken.
Such effort must be more than a New Year's resolution - more than 90% of people discontinue those anyway - but instead needs to be a 'rely upon-the-Lord endeavor, allowing oneself grace and time - I need to do the same with Mary. Change does not come easy, but it can, and does, come with persistence and prayer.
PRAYER:
€Dear Lord, thank you for providing a way out for me when I feel trapped in the lair of bad habits and other temptations. Thank you also that you do not condemn me when I fall and fail. Help me in my struggles and be my Rock and my Guide. I commit myself to you and to the resolve of breaking this habit by your power and with your help. In Jesus' Name - Amen.€
Our springer spaniel Mary is very intelligent; she learns words quickly. Mary is also very friendly, wagging her stub of a spaniel tail and sashaying her rear-end when visitors come to the house. She is also attuned to people's moods and she lays her head upon a knee when she feels someone needs comfort. Mary is also food motivated, and that gets her into trouble sometimes. She has a bad habit of €grazing€ from the counter and from the table when no one is guarding the plates and platters. We have scolded her, and we have suspended her from the room, but her persistence doesn't waver - she falls into the bad habit again the next day... sometimes the very next meal!
Training is supposed to curb a dog's bad behavior. We have considered aluminum foil across the kitchen counter, but Mary isn't afraid of noise. Mouse traps could be another deterrent, but we're not into corporal punishment (although I have swatted her rear-end at times upon catching her €grazing€). Just like with people, changing a dog's bad habits can be quite challenging.
I like Ding Dongs - I rejoiced when Hostess Cakes made a comeback. However, those sweet treats don't like me €¦ at least when it comes to piling on the pounds. As a middle-aged woman with slow metabolism, the bad habit of eating a box of Ding Dongs in a day is detrimental. Oreo cookies aren't much better (the ones with €double-stuff€ are fairly lethal weight-management wise!). Yet, I binge on these €bad for you foods€ on occasion and I don't like myself much afterward. Eating junk food is a bad habit I developed while working at a very stressful job and now that habit has me in a headlock. Just like Mary's €grazing€ has ramifications, so does my €binging.€ I guess you could say my dog and I are both food motivated.
Yet, there is help. Sometimes we need the assistance of others, sometimes we simply need God. Scripture tells us, €No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it€ (1 Corinthians 10:13). With the help of loved ones, the Lord, and great resolve, our bad habits can be broken.
Such effort must be more than a New Year's resolution - more than 90% of people discontinue those anyway - but instead needs to be a 'rely upon-the-Lord endeavor, allowing oneself grace and time - I need to do the same with Mary. Change does not come easy, but it can, and does, come with persistence and prayer.
PRAYER:
€Dear Lord, thank you for providing a way out for me when I feel trapped in the lair of bad habits and other temptations. Thank you also that you do not condemn me when I fall and fail. Help me in my struggles and be my Rock and my Guide. I commit myself to you and to the resolve of breaking this habit by your power and with your help. In Jesus' Name - Amen.€
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