On a Short Leash

Stray dogs have a lot of freedom, but they are also more likely to run into danger. Conversely, God has me on a short leash. One pastor said this after he bounded up an escalator at the airport, marveling in his physical strength and ability, only to find himself the next moment at the bottom of the escalator flat on his face having tripped. Similarly, God has me on a short leash. One day several years ago I was throwing the Frisbee with a friend. Someone walked by and said of me, “Wow, he can really throw that thing.” Naturally, I thought in my heart, ‘wow, he’s right, I can really throw this thing.’ And as the Frisbee was thrown back to me I thought, ‘And I can really catch too.’

The problem was, someone else in our group could also really catch. And as I saw Tyler start running toward the disc to catch it, I quickened my pace. Only, Tyler is scary fast and got there a split second before me. No problem, only we were coming from opposite angles and collided in midair. Tyler is also a little bigger than me and saw the collision coming. I, on the other hand, was blind to it, as a tight end coming across the middle of the field who runs right into a linebacker coming from the opposite direction.

The next thing I knew I had gone down. Hard. Sliding to a stop on the asphalt. The strawberries on my shoulders and hands I could deal with easily, but when I got up I noticed that my left pinky looked like it had an extra knuckle, broken at the base. Several years later now, it is still a little tight when I make a fist. Just enough of a reminder that I am on a short leash.

We sometimes see this cycle of blessing, pride, and humbling in our lives, and one place we see it in Scripture is in the life of Job. Scripture says that Job is blameless and upright (1:1), yet when Job is suffering we see that there must have been some amount of pride, independence, self-righteousness all along. (9:21; 13:3; 27:4-6). Job too was on a short leash. For all the web of complex reasons God had for Job’s suffering (which we will never comprehend) one thing God intended to do (and accomplished perfectly) was the humbling of Job, such that Job would say, “Behold, I am insignificant” (40:4), and, “I declared things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…I repent in dust and ashes.”

To paraphrase, Job said, “God, I am sorry. You are the sovereign God, and I am a limited, finite, creation. I am out of place anytime I boast in myself, in my own strength, in my own goodness, because when I do I set myself up as a god and detract from your glory and what is rightfully yours.” The beauty and grace in all this is that the cycle repeats itself for those who love God and submit to him. The book of Job ends with his restoration of treasures and children—more than he ever had before.

I experienced this cycle again recently when I had been in a good routine of exercise and was feeling particularly strong and aerobic. I went on vacation with no little amount of pride in my heart, thinking even that my brothers would be impressed with my ability as we jogged together on the beach. Only, I never got to jog once, because I am on a short leash. In record time (even during the drive to South Carolina) I came down with the strongest of sinus and chest infections. I spent much of the week wrestling with God (as Job did) in my room, away from the fun on the beach. Thankfully, God showed me my pride, I repented, I acknowledged his perfect will, and I even thanked him for my sickness (which is not easy to do when you are sick).

Now I am back home, and back into a strong routine of exercise. But I am reminded of my short leash. I am reminded that he is God and I am not; that he has given me every breath, every muscle and every ability in life. I don’t know the next time I will forget and seek to run off on my own, I don’t know how he will pull me back. But I am thankful that he does, because it will be for my good and his glory. And for his children, the cycle always repeats itself, returning to blessing. And it is on blessing—eternal blessing—that the cycle will one day soon end.