“For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.” Proverbs 6:23
The pet containment industry is booming. The Better Business Bureau reports over 500 companies that make up a $1.5 billion annual revenue. Pet owners who have yards or designated spaces for their precious fur babies to run or play in know what a valuable service this is. For those who aren’t familiar with these systems, the general way that they function: a collar with a receiver is placed on your sweet pet and there is some sort of electrical field or boundary predetermined to be safe and allows for the pet to stay within by the owner. The collar or receiver, picks up a signal when a pet gets too close to the boundary and beeps in order to warn the pet to back up and stay within the safe limits their owner has set. If that precious little stinker goes past the boundary, the collar will send a gentle static correction. The level of static correction that the fur baby receives will be determined by their response and obedience to the system. I have 4 dogs and each is set at a different level of correction based on their testing the limits outside of safety and into danger, as our boundary is near the road with a decent amount of traffic. This system has prevented lost pets, thwarted them from running into the street where they risk getting hit by a car, and keeps them from bolting out of my front door to rudely jump on and greet mailmen or friends stopping by.
Many times, I have wished that my kids had a system like this when they were younger and liked to bolt across the street without looking. As my kids have become teenagers and are venturing out into the world of driving, social media, and freedom to make all kinds of choices that affect their futures daily, I have come to realize that God developed a plan very similar to this pet containment system…
You see friend, God’s Word, the Holy Spirit and natural consequences are like a Holy Invisible Fence system. His Word is like the boundary flags that define our safe space to run free and live under the shadow of His wings. The Holy Spirit living inside us is our receiver. He pings our spirit, saying, “this is the way, walk in it.” Or, “Don’t go there, that is not God’s best for you.” When we decide to test our boundaries, He gives us natural consequences and sometimes they hurt. If we keep going away from His safe place, we can get lost, will become lonely and risk danger that we can’t even see because the momentary escape feels like freedom. God sees the dangers we can’t, just as we see the dangers that our fur babies can’t anticipate. God knows our hearts, how they function best, and what it takes for our minds and emotions to flourish. He made us to live abundant lives in Him, within His clearly defined boundaries. Lord, help us to trust in Your Word and wisdom for our lives. Help us to tune our hearts, minds, and souls to your frequency and have the strength to stay right where You want us to be.