As a child, I had a dog named Brownie. You can probably figure out the color of the dog, but you don’t know its temperament. If he got off the leash, he did what most dogs do. He ran and made a bounder to the field in back of our barn. He thought it was play time, but it was time for me to go to school. I remember yelling and chasing the dog through the alfalfa. The dog was mine, but no way did he want to stay close.
GOD PURSUES…I RUN
Often, my heart is like Brownie’s. As soon as I can, I spring away from God and run the opposite direction. God pursues. I run harder. Doesn’t matter how loud He calls; I run. Why don’t I take Him seriously?
WHO IS THE MASTER?
Instead of God being my Master, I convince myself that God is at my personal beck and call. I can whistle for Him or tell Him to go away.
KEEP THE HEART WITH GOD
“The greatest difficulty in conversion,” wrote Flavel, “is to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God.” However, I want to run away, make my own choices, and trample all over my field of life. I forget my Master and His plans are far better than mine.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
DANGEROUS SEASONS OF THE HEART
What times do I need to be especially diligent? Flavel lays out the “Special Seasons in the Life of a Christian which Require our Utmost Diligence in Keeping the Heart.” His list includes:
- The time when we think we have it all
- The time when pain takes up residence
- The time of Church hurts
- The time of danger and distraction
- The time when my desires don’t match God’s
- The season of hard work and exhaustion
- The time of injuries and abuse from people
- In the hour of temptation, when Satan goes after the Christian’s heart, and takes the unsuspecting by surprise
I learned and am still learning not to be like Brownie. He was not a very smart pet. I mimic him as I run away from God. Regardless of the season of life, I constantly need to remember to keep my heart next to God’s.
Is your heart running away, trampling down the field of alfalfa? Time to keep your heart with God.
