Kim Bryan

We call this Shane’s “snow snuffling.”

I Corinthians 10:13 tells us this:  “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful:  he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”  The King James Version says that God will “also make a way to escape… .”

This verse came to my mind during a recent snowstorm we had in our area.  We live in a townhome, so we don’t have a fenced yard for Shane to hang out in.  Instead, he spends a great deal of time on our various decks, watching all of the activity going on around our home.  It’s one of his favorite things to do (when he’s not out on a walk or a run, or being taken for a ride in the car – other favorite ways for Shane to spend his time).

We believe Shane is part Husky, part Rottweiler (with perhaps some other breeds mixed in, as well) so, needless to say, he loves the snow.  I mean, he seriously loves the snow!  So you can imagine how excited he was to go out on the deck after this snowstorm.  Life was grand!

Life was grand…until Shane lifted his leg and relieved himself all over our deck chair which was, of course, covered in snow.  I completely understand his confusion; overnight, the deck had been transformed into a snowy representation of his customary outside potty area.  Shane didn’t understand that the deck was not an acceptable place to do his business.  We told him, “No potty,” cleaned up the mess, and hoped he would get the message.

Shane did not get the message.  The next time we let him out on the deck, he made the same error.  We corrected him again, brought him inside, cleaned up the mess, and decided that Shane would not be able to go out on the deck until the snow had been removed.  Clearly, this decision did not sit well with Shane.  He asked repeatedly to go out on the deck, but we did not allow it.

That was so hard for us!  We know how much Shane loves to be out on the deck, especially in the snow.  We love Shane dearly, and it is never easy to deny someone you love what they really want.  But we knew that if we allowed him to have his way and to go out on the deck, he would make a mistake.  We didn’t want to knowingly put Shane in the situation where he was going to stumble and to do something wrong in our eyes.  So our answer had to be, “No,” until the deck could be cleared of the snow.

It made me think of how often God tells us “No,” not because He wants to deny us anything, but because He wants the very best for us.  If giving us our way will cause us to stumble and to sin, God will not give us our way.  That is true love.  That is tough love.  That is the best love there is.

It can be very difficult to walk in that kind of love, whether you are the recipient of it or the instrument of it.  However, that kind of love produces the highest and best result every time.  All Shane was asked to do was to wait.  Once we had an opportunity to remove the snow from the deck, he was back to enjoying his time outside on the deck, but with no negative consequences.  Our decision to tell him, “No,” and to have him wait allowed him to sidestep a situation where he would have erred and would have paid a price for his error.

God may say, “No,” at times, but we can be sure that in His unfailing love for us, He says, “Yes,” just as soon as it is possible for us to move forward without stumbling and without paying a price for any sinful choices we may make without His protection.  Sometimes we have to wait for God to “clear the deck” before we can have what we want, before we can move ahead in a situation, or before we can have a thorn removed from our walk.

God knows best.  His way is always the best way.  We can trust that His way is always the way of love.

Peace to you!