“Are you okay?” I rolled my window down and yelled out to the driver.
“Yeah, but my
car’s not.” The driver called back to me.
I took a glance at his car and could see that there was a huge dent in
the driver’s door and the window was broken.
“Is there anything
I can do? Is she okay?” I called out to him.
“No, I’ve placed
a call to see if we can get her some help.
I’m just standing by her so that she doesn’t get hit by another car, but
I think she is just stunned.”
Even as he
spoke, the deer shakily rose up on her legs; she shook her head as if to clear
it. She had a few cuts and probably
plenty of bruises, but stood on her legs and at that moment, bounded off into
the woods. We all watched her in
silence, releasing breathes we more than likely did not know we’d been holding,
glad to see she was alright… Our eyes followed her as she bounded off into the
woods only to watch as she head first smacked right into a tree trunk. I had to laugh. Poor deer, I imagined her thinking, “oh what
a day I am having!” As she continued on into the forest; we’ve all had days
like that. I totally sympathized with her plight.
Sometimes life
feels like that, I imagine a male buck was probably pursuing her and running
from the situation she found herself in
a situation she didn’t expect to be in, worse than the first or we get
lost because we feel we are running blindly into one situation after
another. The best thing to do, is just
stop. Stop, look and listen.
Stop – because your
thoughts are probably going like your heart rate, a mile a minute trying to
figure out what you should do. You’ve
entered what they call “survivor mode” or having a “flight or fight”
response. Your thoughts are all over the
page – “Oh no! Oh no! What am I going to do? What am I going to do? How am I
going to get out of this mess I am?” Panic mode when you can’t think
clearly. All you see are the problems
that are before you. STOP. You may be
surprised at the situation that you are in but God is not. Your thoughts are going at such a rate that
you are in “hyper-ventilating” mode and that’s when you are unable to think
clearly. JUST STOP. In fact the Bible
says:
“Be still and
know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10)
Look – after you
have stilled yourself. Look to God;
bring the situation right there to the foot of the cross.
“God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalms 46:1)
We were not
created to be dependent upon ourselves.
We were created to be dependent on God.
He is so much greater than our troubles, He wants us to bring our
worries and our cares to Him. So many
times we try to figure out things on our own and we can’t. He wants us to come
to Him in prayer, believing that He desires to help us.
“Take my yoke
upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(Matthew 11:29-30)
The only way you
can understand this, is if you recognize your need to have Him in your life.
You were not made with the intent to carry everything yourself. We are not strong enough, nor are we able.
God wants us to recognize that we are dependent upon Him. That’s not a bad thing either, there is peace
in that, there is security in that, and there is rest in that.
Once we’ve
stopped and looked up to Him. Then we
are to be still and to listen. Listen - Hear what
God is saying about the situation. Listening
can sometimes be the hardest part, especially when we live in a world filled
with so much noise. But if we’ve
followed the first two steps – stopped and looked we should be at a point of
expectation – listening and expecting to hear from our Father.
What situation
are you in? What are you anxious about? What is it that you are worried about?
Anxiety and worry are not of God.
"Do not be
anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
I think that God
allowed my family and I to see that sweet troubled deer for a reason that day,
to remind us that when we try to run away from situations we just crash and get
dazed before confusedly running off into another direction all over again. What
we should do is stop – gather our thoughts take a deep breath; look – to our
God who is the source of all answers and who clears away all confusion and
listen – to the God who promises to guide us and keep us and to never leave nor
forsake us all the days of our lives. He
is the lifter of our heads, the director of our path who sees the fullness of
us. All we need to do, is trust in Him.
“The LORD God is
my strength, and he will make my feet like deer's feet, and he will make me
walk upon my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:19)
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