Let me tell you the story of Chloe… My team first met her when we came to stay with Ms. Deborah. She was the most docile, sweet pregnant dog you ever met. She would walk around the property, sniffing plants and getting petted by anyone who came by.
We were all so eager to see her puppies, and they told us the puppies would arrive during our time there. And finally the day came for the puppies to be born! Chloe was under the house, and I went to take a look. One little puppy somehow got stuck in the branches of a bush, and it was whining, unable to move. Chloe kept trying to help it but couldn’t get it free. Then Chloe came toward me, and somehow I could tell that she was asking me to help it. I went under the house slowly, knowing that mothers can be very protective, but Chloe just nudged my hand closer to the puppy and rested her head on my leg while I released it from the branches. Chloe laid down as I brought her puppy to her. A really sweet moment.
But within hours, all that changed. Chloe gave birth to a total of 13 puppies and became aggressively protective. I watched her attack and bite my teammate twice. It happened so fast that I couldn’t figure out what to do to help her. The next day Chloe charged at me and jumped on me to push me away. I began making plans for how I could help if I saw someone else on my team get attacked.
Chloe’s owner was asked to lock her up, but the last night we were on Roatan, he left her unchained on the property. The van came to pick us up at 5:30am, and we headed out to face this barking, growling dog. My teammate was terrified from her previous encounter. So I took her arm to walk with her, my body between her and the dog. A few teammates lined the other side of the walkway between her and the dog as well. As we walked up, the dog began coming around behind us, barking and growling and probably a lot a bit too close for comfort.
My teammate got scared and took off running, and of course the dog gave chase. My teammate tried to run around me, back to the house. I could see our friend Joche moving in to block the dog. So I grabbed the barbed wire fence next to us and braced myself against her to stop the run. I knew that dog would keep chasing, and I knew she had made it over half way to the van. If she went back, making that walk a second time would be even worse for her. “If you run, she will chase you. If you run, she will chase you,” I kept repeating over and over. Finally, she said ok.
Then I said “You can’t go back to the house.” Joche walked closer to us, and I said, Go with Joche to the van now.”
As she turned to go, I stepped between her and the dog for a bit of a stare-down. My body was shaking, my heart racing, as I stared down that large, menacing pit bull. And yet, somehow, I knew I was safe. Probably a whole 10-15 seconds, but it felt like forever. When my teammate made it to the van, I backed away and went to the van too.
So, let’s go back to when I said I made plans for how I would help my teammates if the dog attacked them… This was my grand plan: to make every effort to get between them and the dog. Maybe not the smartest plan, but I have a point. What is the situation that has you scared the most? Or it involves anger, frustration? Or maybe there is something that you know the Lord is asking you to let go, but you know if you face the temptation you will probably give in?
I would like to suggest making a plan. What will you say? What will you do? How will you protect and express love? How will you honor the Lord with your words and actions in that situation? Sure, the dog is unpredictable. It could be just a tense stare-down, or the dog could attack and rip you to pieces. Or you even have the option to abandon the plan. But without a strategy, we are often left with just our gut reactions, which often cause us to run – run right into the situation we were hoping to avoid.
Kings plan for battle and count the cost before they go to war (Luke 14:31). Soldiers put on armor before the battle (Ephesians 6). Runners train their bodies to prepare for the race (1 Corinthians 9:24). Here on the Race, we use the phrase “being intentional” a lot. It’s about not leaving relationships or ministries to chance, and instead pursuing those things on purpose, using God’s design. The weapons with which we fight are not of the flesh (2 Corinthians 10:4), but if we don’t train and make a plan to use God’s weapons, we most often will default to our fleshly ones. Our flesh – our gut reactions – often gets us in trouble.
So, jump into the Word; it is full of strategy. Seek God for direction; He loves to talk to us and give revelation. Find godly counsel; God gives us mentors to pour wisdom into us. Don’t default to your old man, but be strategic about living life fully as the new creation in Christ that you are.
