Flip It Around

Words fascinate me. So God uses them often to get my attention. Today I saw the same letters in two different ways.

W-O-L-F.

Where I live we don't have wolves, but we have plenty of their cousins, the coyote. I lost a kitten to one several years ago. It ventured underneath the fence and the coyote, lurking in the tall grass of the vacant lot, snatched it in its mouth.

Spiritually, there are a lot of wolves out there. But the lure to run free is tempting. And just when you think all is okay — snatch. The consequences are lethal to the soul.

Wolves run in packs. It is the same with temptations. One rebellious act leads to another. One little backslide sends a person teetering on a slippery slope, ready to tumble.

Now flip the letters around - F-L-O-W.

Eden had a stream flowing through it. The promised land was described as flowing with milk and honey. Jesus said he was the living water and no one who came to him would thirst. In other words, to the obedient, God provides abundantly.

Instead of rebelling and heading off on our own where dangers lurk, we can choose to "go with the flow", as the 1970's adage states.

So, it's our choice. Float in the flow of God’s grace and mercy, staying within the banks of His ways, or go off on our own and be lured by the wolf called self who crouches waiting to devour our soul.

Dear Lord, help me to stay within the boundaries you set. Keep me from temptations that want to lure me into dangerous habit and thoughts in the name of free will and self. Amen.

Go Deeper — Find a small picture of a wolf and then one of a river on free photo websites like unsplash.com. Cut them out and tape each to different sides of a coin to remind you you always have a choice.