Have you ever had your head so far buried in something that you had trouble seeing what else is going on around you? This has been part of my struggle lately. My family is in the process of finishing some home improvement projects and then moving to a different house, and my mind has been so embedded in the list of things that need to be done in a short time that other things have gotten overlooked. My apologies to those of you who have been on the “overlooked” side of things!
I was recently reminded of how our focus can get us into trouble when we were making a trip to see our daughter. As we drove north on Highway 75, an unusual sight caught my husband’s attention along the edge of the road. He was quite certain he saw an animal in distress and we turned around to investigate. Sure enough. There was a cat sitting very close to the white line with his head stuck inside an empty peanut butter jar. The poor cat was so distraught about the predicament he was currently in that he was completely blind to the very real possibility of becoming roadkill if he stayed where he was at or moved even a little in the wrong direction.
Now we are not some animal rights activists by any means, but it would sadden us to have someone’s pet end its life under the rubber of an automobile. After checking to make sure there was no oncoming traffic, Doug stepped out of the car to assist the cat. Much to our dismay, the cat wanted nothing to do with our help. Every time Doug moved toward the cat, the cat moved farther away from Doug. He tried to relay to the animal his intent to help and not to harm, but I can only imagine what a 6 foot man looks like from the inside of a jar, and the cat would not cooperate with the rescue attempt. Eventually, the cat ran across the road, through the ditch, and in the direction of where we assumed was his home, with his head still inside the container.
As we left the cat to fend for himself, I felt bad for abandoning him in this situation. He had at least gotten away from the highway so part of the immanent danger was gone, but he was far from being okay. However, I had to accept that there was nothing more we could do if he didn’t want our help. I was struck by the similarity of how God also wants to help us as his children but we often run in the opposite direction. He pursues us over and over again, but we are a stubborn and stiff necked people. Three times in Romans 1:24-32, we read that “God gave them over” to their sinful desires. Thankfully God is much more patient with us than we were with the cat, but there comes a time when God says enough is enough.
We have been learning over the past five weeks about how to experience God, how He speaks to us, and how to do His will. One of the ways He speaks by His Holy Spirit is through our circumstances, even situations involving a stubborn cat. Another way He speaks is through His Word. Romans 1:21-22 says, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”
So what does that say to you? Have you been listening and surrendering to His ways, glorifying Him and thanking Him, or have you high tailed it in the opposite direction and hardened your heart? May it not be said of us that we ignored the voice of God or turned our back on Him, but that we turned toward Him, fell on our knees, and repented of our foolish ways. Take a lesson from a cat and instead of running from God, try running towards Him.