“He brought me up from the roaring pit, up from the muddy ooze, and set my feet on a rock, making my footing firm.” (Ps. 40:2, Complete Jewish Bible)
The first time I ever let my Golden Retriever puppy off her leash for a run, she was terrified. She cowered under my feet, refusing to resume her play—until she grabbed the end of the leash in her mouth! But this didn’t last long. She quickly learned EXACTLY what you do with freedom: As soon as the leash is unclasped, you RUN—and if there happens to be a muddy drainage ditch along the way, so much the better!
Because of this innate attraction to mud, I have learned to quell her “off-leash” times to places where there aren’t any ditches. But this morning I decided I didn’t need to worry about mud. We were in the midst of a Niagara-in-the-Spring “dry spell” (three days without rain!). The ditches SHOULD be dry!
It only took my pup five seconds from the time I unclasp the leash to prove me wrong. The instant she was free, she charged into the first drainage ditch, and waves of muddy water flew for feet on either side. A mere moment of freedom, and from the belly down, my golden pup looked like a chocolate lab!
But as I watched her running back to me, for the briefest of instants, it wasn’t a dirty dog that I saw. It was—ME! I was running across the grass with mud caked to my feet and my legs!
Suddenly I understood. I had made some bad choices. I had chosen to caper in the mud and grime of iniquity. Like my pup, I was dirty! Heart-wrenching sobs bubbled up from the pit of my soul as all of the anguish, the pain, the sorrow, and the disappointment of yielding to temptation poured forth.
Through my tears, I then saw something else. I saw Jesus standing on the road. Despite my filthiness, He was waiting for me with out-stretched arms! My sobs of sorry turned to tears of joy as I realized I still had a Savior who loved me, even though I had capered in the muddy ditch of sin!
Then God’s voice resounded in my ear: “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean . . .” (John 13:10) My tears poured forth anew. I was the one who had chosen to run in the mud of sin. But because my heart belonged to the Lord, when I turned back to Him, I only needed my feet washed. The rest of me was still clean!
What mercy! What grace! What LOVE!
My friend, are you capering in a muddy ditch? Playing with evil? Holding on to a pet sin? If you are, turn to Jesus. He is waiting with outstretched arms to take you back and to gently wash your dirty feet. Turn back now, my friend! Being clean again is MUCH more exhilarating that the thrill of the caper!
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org