I live in a house that belongs to a cat. You think I’m kidding? You obviously don’t have a feline of your own. Sonny is seven years old and a beautiful tabby. But holy cow! She’s a lot! If I’m to be honest, I probably like having cats BECAUSE of their attitude. (We tend to stick to our kind.) She’s pretty low maintenance. Just put food in her bowl and every once in a while, you might pet her head; but don’t get carried away. There’s a line you definitely don’t want to cross. We can leave the house for vacation, and she couldn’t care less. But there’s one thing she does (it started a few years ago) that makes me want to scream. She jumps up to my side of the bathroom vanity (never Kenny’s side) and incessantly rubs her head all over the faucet until I turn the water on. About half of the time, she actually gets a drink. Fine. No problem. You’re a special cat, right? But the other times, she does an about-face and abruptly walks away. Snubbing even. “Yep. Just making sure you’re still here to meet my every need.” Really? You spoiled little…………. Seems pretty ungrateful if you ask me. Maybe even entitled. And then it hit me like a freight train.
The Bible is very clear. I can come to God for anything at any time. No request is too big or too small. He’s concerned about the same things that concern me. He literally always answers. It might be a, “Yes”. Or it could be a, “No”. Maybe it’s, “Wait”. But always a response. And what’s often the next thing we do? We turn around and act like we don’t need Him again.
Our morning is consumed with one rat race or another (i.e., toddlers, teenagers, spouses, or maybe even me not being able to find shoes or keys or anything else for that matter). We absolutely cannot skip the coffee stop. And we’re probably sliding into Kroger on the way too because we forgot that our coworker is moving out-of-state and our responsibility in the pitch-in lunch was finger sandwiches.
Whether we’re going to work away from the home or not, the rest of our day is hijacked by one hair-raising minute after another. There’s no margin. None.
If you aren’t heading home from work, you’re stopping to pick up or drop off somebody (maybe the neighborhood kid, too). Juggling the options of grabbing a less than healthy drive-thru supper versus soup and grilled cheese (or even resorting to bowls of cereal).
If you’re fortunate enough to be home before 8 pm, chances are you’re sick, the laundry from two days ago is still in the washer, or you overlooked another line on your calendar and completely missed Winston’s choir concert (and apparently Winston, too). You collapse (probably on the couch, hopefully not on the toilet) in defeat around 11:37 pm and wake up slobbering around 2:14 am to drag your worn and weary self to bed. This is when you find yourself wide awake of course. What in the world?!
Sadly, most of that isn’t exaggeration. It’s actually happened to us. Maybe not all in the same day. But it happened. We run around like a crazed animal. We throw up an occasional arrow prayer (“God, I really need you to part the waters of traffic for me on 465 today.”) We might even find ourselves genuinely getting alone with God and having intense moments of spilling our hearts to Him every once in a while. Begging Him to give peace and comfort to someone we love. Crying out for healing. But at the snap of a finger, we turn and walk away from the faucet again. It gave us what we wanted or needed. Or maybe it didn’t. But either way, we’re off to other agenda items.
I don’t write or type a single word out of judgment. Generally speaking, if you’re reading something I’ve written, it’s a result of my personal experience on some level. And although I’ve typically been a slow learner (I tend to make my own mistakes very nicely), I’m getting wiser with age (and a lot of help from God).
Will God be there when you cry out to Him like Sonny at the faucet? Absolutely. Just remember the Israelites. They did what was evil in the sight of God, they cried to Him for help, and He sent someone to rescue them. Every time. But it doesn’t need to be that way. The faucet of Living Water is available all the time. And when I find myself in constant contact with Him (instead of grabbing a quick sip here and there), my perspective is utterly transformed. I act and react differently. The way God intended.
Now while you give this a try, I’m going to turn on the faucet for a cat.
Jeremiah 17:8 ~ He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.