What I Learned When My Dog Went Missing
It’s been a rough week.
A week of searching when I only found disappointment. A week of questioning when I was only left with more questions than answers. A week of hoping when results feel impossible.
It’s been a rough week.
I’ve been attempting to adjust through it with nothing but my blind optimism and overly hopeful imagination. Some days those things don’t just magically come as natural, and that’s okay- some weeks deserve a little more grace than others.
My dog Lilly went missing last Tuesday. She was a friendly, loving dog. She had a way of being joyful and making people happy even on the gloomiest days. I found myself in a pattern of hoping. Hoping with every “missing dog” poster I zip-tied, it would mean we were one step closer to bringing her home- the posters are still there, leaving me disappointed. Hoping every time my dad’s phone rang, it was an unknown number of someone calling to declare her found- the phone call never came, leaving me disappointed. Hoping that every time we drove side roads and called out her name, she would come running up to the car- we were only led to dead ends, leaving me disappointed.
As Saturday came and the five-day mark rolled around, I couldn’t help but feel exhausted. The exhaustion came from a buildup of emotions that seemed to spiral out of control, the physical searching we’d spent hours doing, and the sadness that crept in when I realized she probably wasn’t coming back.
I was exhausted from the disappointment of building momentum of hope each day that only seemed to crumble and fall.
I spent a lot of my week searching and hoping we would find Lilly to only find disappointment when I didn’t get the outcome I wanted and desired, which is pretty normal… and expected.
However, I did find hope in one place I wasn’t exactly searching for it.
I was searching for hope in getting the answers I wanted and the results I desired. I was searching for hope in places around my house, backyard pastures and side road streets- subconsciously placing my hope in the outcome.
God’s goodness is not contingent on me getting the outcome I want based on temporary desires.
I can’t deem the goodness of God on whether or not I get my way and life looks the way I think it should. More often than not, when I desire to get my outcome, I need to take a hard look at where I’m finding my satisfaction and where I’m placing my hope.
Physical things only build up expectations that will always let us down.
When I put my hope in circumstantial things, I’m going to be let down and disappointed. That’s a hard thing to build lasting hope on. Why? Because it’s circumstantial. I can’t have accountability or dependency on something that’s bound to change and waver based on emotions, or opinions or people who are human. I can’t put my hope in something that might run away and that I have no control over.
My focus needs to be taken off of the outcome and focused clearly on God.
I can place my hope in the one Person who is unchanging and never-failing. I can place my hope in God because He is:
Constant.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
- He is always the same. God is our constant in a world that is unpredictable and vastly changing.
Omniscient.
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.” Psalm 139: 1-3
- Your prayers may not feel known, but they are heard by the God who created all things and is in all things.
Dependable.
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations…” Deuteronomy 7:9
“[I]f we are faithless, He remains faithful,” 2 Timothy 2:13
- Living in a fallen world, we will be disappointed and feel forgotten. We can depend on Him to remain faithful because He will never forsake us. He keeps His promises to us because He loves us.
Our Sustainer.
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
- He renews our strength when we feel too weak to keep searching. He provides and He sustains because He is in all things.
God is all four of these things and more.
He is good even, and especially when, my prayers aren’t answered with the outcome I desire.
He is good because He is God. He cares deeply, He loves vastly and He protects intently- even when it may not feel like it because we mistakenly place our hope in circumstantial things instead of the unfailing One who never changes.
God is where I place my hope.
Where do you place yours?
I didn’t get the answer that I wanted, but I got the answer I needed- to take my focus off of my circumstances and draw nearer to Him when I’m feeling less than capable of holding myself up.
My hope in Jesus, nothing less. He is my hope and the Rock on which I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
“My hope is found in nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” There is so much meaning behind those beautiful words. My hope can be found in nothing less than Jesus. His blood and righteousness are sufficient for me. Only then can I be satisfied. Disappointment is no longer the focus of the story. “Renewed” and “restored” will be new words!
I still haven’t found my precious dog Lilly; but I know that my hope is in God, and He is good regardless of the outcome.
God is good simply because He is God. Period.
