Commit every particle of your being in all
things, down to the smallest details of your
life, eagerly and with perfect trust to the
unfailing and most sure providence of God.
JEAN-PIERRE DE CAUSSADE
When my beloved Biscuit and Morgan were well into their senior years, I began thinking of adding to my canine family. I had a younger dog, a little Pomeranian named Becca. She was not quite six years old, and I thought a boy dog anywhere from about one to four years of age would be a perfect playmate. I began checking a popular pet adoption website and soon found a pooch that seemed a great possibility.
I made contact with the rescue group that had this dog. He was in foster care. Angie, the head of the group, was away on vacation. But she talked with me by phone. She thought someone might already be interested in the dog I had chosen. But she had another wonderful pup that might just suit my situation. She emailed a photo of an adorable papillon mix—and I fell in love. As we continued to communicate, it turned out both dogs might be available, and I emailed asking to meet each of them.
I had a hesitation, though. I lived in the city of Los Angeles. There was a legal limit of three dogs per household. I had rationalized that I wouldn’t have four dogs very long. After all, my oldest was 15 and had a heart murmur that required medication. But even so, I was breaking the rules, wasn’t I? When I called local animal control to ask if the regulations had changed, my guilt was reinforced. I decided I was doing the wrong thing. Scripture urges us to obey the laws of the land. I left a message for Angie that I’d had second thoughts. I especially hated to lose out on that papillon mix, but I surrendered him to God.
Little did I know how quickly God would give him back. I got a message from Angie a few days later. She had returned and found both my request to meet the dogs and my message backing off at the same time. She wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. When I phoned to clarify, she had just been to visit the papillon mix in foster care. He was not in the best of shape. He had skin issues, and seemed miserable in his foster home’s desert heat. She pleaded with me to take him on a temporary basis. She had no one else to care for him. She’d just prayed for a solution. Somehow it seemed the right thing to do. I agreed.
I didn’t know, but God knew, that within a month I would lose the younger of my two senior pooches. I adopted the papillon mix I named Munchie. He proved older than we’d thought (eight years of age instead of four), but it didn’t matter. He was clearly meant for me—a special gift from God. He and Becca get along famously, and Munchie is perfect for my home and a joy in every way.
God asked me to surrender a dog. He asked Israel’s King David to surrender a building project. David longed to build a temple where God would dwell. God said no to that fond wish because David’s reign had been filled with war and bloodshed. God ordered that the project be deferred to David’s son Solomon, who would enjoy a reign of rest and peace. David laid his desire on God’s altar and obediently prepared the way for Solomon to erect Israel’s first temple.
I love Munchie, but I love God more. Nothing else I could want holds a candle to Him. I also realize that like King David, I don’t always know what’s best, so I lay my desires before the One who does.
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this (Psalm 37:4-5).
Have you ever surrendered a deep desire to the Lord? How did it affect your faith? What is hardest for you to surrender now? What might help you do so?