GOD SAID, "IT'S NOT THE DEVIL, IT'S ME"

"I put the dogs there!"

A mentor named Sharmaine once said to me, “There is a temperament, a character, a compassion, a long suffering and many other traits of God that has to be downloaded within you to sustain you in what God is calling you to do ultimately.”

This download is accomplished through testing and trials that the Father permits, or in some cases He orchestrates in order to prepare us for the purpose He has planned for us.

Recently, two dogs moved in next door to us, one to our immediate left and one to our immediate right. Long story short, they LOVE to bark, both of them, very loudly. I prayed and prayed that the Lord would rebuke the devil for putting these dogs here to torment me day in and day out. I even spoke with one of the owners. Nothing! Finally, I heard the voice of the Lord say, “I put the dogs there! I am trying to teach you endurance. Where I’m taking you, you will experience many loud barkers. You need the stamina and endurance to face it.” What an aha moment that was.

Winston Churchill said, “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” I am learning to just keep going despite the noise. Some days I put on loud music to block them out, but I keep going.

The neighbor I spoke with concerning his barking dog, eventually someone killed it, and the noise eased up a bit. God had mercy on me.

The apostle Paul said, “We are God’s workmanship (handiwork, masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus for good works. God is saying, “I am trying to work on you, but you are like that lump of clay that the potter cannot get to act right.

Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NLT) The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as He told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the LORD gave Jeremiah this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.

"We've been calling the wrong stuff, the devil.

God delivers stuff that is not the devil."

I have not become the devil's advocate, I am the Lord's mouthpiece. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

To God be the glory.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove 🕊