Following God's Leading

On Monday night, Mr. Corrigan did a worship thought that was really thought provoking. He gave a very good illustration with a story about a rescue dog. This rescue dog had a very good sense of smell, so one day when a hiker was reported missing, this dog was recruited. The search and rescue men gave the dog an item of the lost hiker, and the dog picked up the scent immediately, and began the search. The men followed the dog as he caught a whiff of the hikers sent in the wind on the top of the mountain peak. So up and over the mountain top they climbed, with the dog running several yards in front of the men, and then returning to make sure they were coming, then running ahead several yards, then returning. This process continued down the mountainside, and into the valley. As they continued through the valley, the dog kept pushing on. They eventually reached another mountain, which they began to climb. Soon they neared the top, and the dog kept going. Over the mountain peak they climbed, and then there before them they found what they were looking for. The glacier had pulled away from the mountain, and the lost hiker had fallen inside and was unable to get out. The rescue men quickly began work to get the poor, frozen man out of his predicament. They were able to get the man out, and to the hospital where they were able to get him back on his feet. This story may just seem like any other normal rescue story, and it is. But there is something that we can often find ourselves over looking. One important detail that really makes this story, and many other rescue stories, quite fascinating. The dog had a good sense of smell, and could smell the mans scent from the top of the mountain that was quite far away from the mountain that the hiker was on. But the wind was on top of the mountain. What happened when the dog went down into the valley? He lost the scent from the wind. So the dog had to rely completely on his memory of the direction of the scent when he could smell it last. Which was on the top of the mountain. He continued to push forward, even though he couldn't smell the scent like before. Then when he reached the second mountain, he was able to smell the scent again, and find the man. In the same way, there will be times in our life when we lose the sense of God's presence. When this happens, do we give up? or do we continue to push forward, and rely on the last message we received from Him? When God asks us to go in one direction, or to follow something, He means it. And until He tells us to change, we must continue to push in that direction, even if we feel at times like we have lost His leading. We must go back to where we last sensed His presence, and push forward from there. Whether we are on top of the mountain or in the valley, we can still be assured that we are doing His will.