Just before Thanksgiving in 2005, I left the country, embarking on a new adventure. My life philosophy is that “the only thing you can plan on is that nothing goes according to plan.” Sure enough, things didn’t quite go as planned and I returned after a 17-day absence. Lynne met me at the airport, and after a warm embrace, we walked to the car in the parking garage. At that time, we had two small dogs — Murphy and Rocky — and Lynne had brought them both with her to pick me up. As we approached the car, I saw Murphy sitting on the console looking around, so I called his name. Immediately, Rocky, who had been patiently lying on the passenger side seat, stood up, looking around — he had heard his master’s voice!

Rocky came to us in late 1999, about six months after we lost a dog to cancer. He had been mistreated so he was very apprehensive, especially around men. He spent much of his first few weeks under the dining room table!

Rocky was supposed to be a schnauzer but really looked more like a mutt. I really wasn’t ready for another dog, but Lynne was undeterred, so Rocky came to stay. After seeing how afraid he was, I determined that I was going to win him over … and I did. Within a few weeks, he was “my dog”! He followed me everywhere.

Our relationship with Jesus is a lot like that. We live in a world that mistreats us all and as a result we are distrustful of people and their intentions. Scripture tells us that “We love [God] because He first loved us” (I John 4:19, ESV). Just like Rocky, we respond to the love that God pours out on us. Sometimes it’s a slow process, and I can tell you that God is not the one who is dragging the process out. We must spend time with the Master so that we recognize His voice when He calls. Jesus said this about Himself:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:1-4, ESV).

Like Rocky, many of us are (figuratively speaking) hiding under the dining room table, never coming out to be loved on by the Son. Are you hearing the Master’s voice today? His desire is that we come out and experience the love that He has for us. I John 4:18 (ESV) says that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

Chris Tomlin wrote a song titled “Captured” in the album “The Noise We Make.” One stanza goes like this:

I am loved by the Father, I am loved by the Son,
And it’s love that has captured, the heart of this wayward one!

The blessing of knowing and walking with the Son is one of indescribable joy. So, are you still hiding, or are you spending quality time with the Master? What say ye, Man of Valor?