Inspiration from a Dog Called Grace
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Hit by two cars on the same day on the highway in front of the gas station where she had been dumped along with a sibling pup. She adamantly, blatantly, emphatically, rebelliously refused to be rescued – under any circumstances. Her broken femur, the winter cold, living in the woods made no difference. She would NOT trust ANYONE. No way. For six weeks, she ran at high speeds on her broken leg – close enough to people at the gas station to get food, then as fast as possible into the woods to escape rescue. She would get what she needed – on her own. No way would she trust the one offering to love, rescue, help, and provide for her.
I knew nothing about her until I stopped at the gas station for directions on my way to picking up paralyzed dog Miss Mercy who was in a rural Georgia shelter where she would be euthanized if nobody rescued her. For six weeks, I drove hours back and forth once or twice a week trying to rescue the dog I would come to call Grace. To no avail. Little did I know a man who had passed through the gas station on a work-related road trip had been praying for Grace every night from hours upon hours away.
One day when I chased her to no avail in the woods behind the gas station, I cried out to God in anger and frustration. His reply surprised me. He told me in those woods not to give up on a loved one – a person – I have known for years. He was teaching me through a dog called Grace to persevere when it came to not giving up on people who needed rescue. Not rescue by me, but rescue by Him through Jesus Christ through my heart as His vessel. God worked a miracle with Grace the dog. He sent a man who rescued Grace and handed her off to me. But no way would she trust me. For days at a time, she would run wildly around my yard – away from me. I couldn’t get her to come near me. She knew how to fend for herself. No way would she trust the one wanting to help her. She would rather be “safe” alone than take the risk of being hurt by someone given her history.
Today Grace is so in love with me she comes racing up to me and then zooms excitedly around the yard at high speed on her disabled leg because she’s so exuberant to see the one she now trusts to love and provide for her. I was once like Grace. I wanted what God offered me – from a distance. But like Grace came to know and love and trust me, I have done the same with Him. Now I live and breathe to love and glorify Him and yield my life utterly to Him so He can rescue others through me. Are you standing at a distance from THE LORD whose rescue you need? Or have you been rescued by THE LORD and are tempted to give up on someone He wants to rescue through you? Cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ!