There are times when a single word is all it takes for me to write a devotional. I’ll be sitting, drinking my coffee, reading my Bible, and a word in a verse speaks to me. I know the touch of the Holy Spirit so I know that if I start with that verse and highlight that word, then all the rest will follow.
Other times it’s a battle. I know God has something He wants me to write, but I can’t seem to grab hold of it. I told a dear friend about a “picture” God showed me about this. I saw a bloodhound dog. If that dog knows the scent of what he’s tracking, it may look like he’s lost his mind. He’ll run, stop, circle back, and cross the same path several times, but that dog will keep working on that scent until he finds its source. Sometimes, that’s the way God works with us.
When it’s a battle, I must work like a bloodhound, and I imagine it’s the same for you. We catch the “scent” of God’s will regarding a work He wants us to do. Once we have that scent, nothing will distract us. We may appear to friends and family as if we’ve lost our minds.
We’ll start off at a run, circle back, go left then right, continually searching for the scent of God’s will. And, we’ll find it. It may seem to evaporate for a while, but we just keep “sniffing” for the aroma, and soon the Holy Spirit will help us catch the scent, and off we go!
God’s Word says in Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
God does a work in us. What He does in me is probably different from what He does in you. But, we have been equipped to do His will, and that includes the nose of a Spiritual bloodhound.
I thank God for how he trains us, just as a “Search and Rescue” officer trains his dog to track a scent. We desire to be obedient to our Savior, to be dedicated and loyal to Him. And it’s that hunger that keeps us going. As Proverbs 16:26 says, “The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.”
Our hope in Jesus sustains us, for Jesus said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV) So, in confidence, we can cast off all our distractions when we catch the scent of God’s will. We have a great adventure to which our Lord is calling us. Let’s go!
Steven Curtis Chapman – The Great Adventure
