Behind the Fence

Take one turtle...

Place it behind a wrought iron fence.....

and I promise you that God can make a good analogy out of it.  

So here goes...

I was going to pick up a customer a couple of weeks ago and was sitting out side of his house when I noticed something in the yard next to the house.  The yard was closed off by a wrought iron fence (kind of like the one in the picture above), and there was an unhappy turtle in the yard on the other side of the fence.  How do I know he was an unhappy turtle?  His shell was blue!  Ha ha ha get it? OK... never mind.  I figured that he was unhappy because he was trying his best to get out of the gate.  He was trying to maneuver his body through two of the iron bars, with very little success.  Even though it was obvious to me that he was never going to get out of that fence, he kept trying.  After maneuvering for a couple of minutes, the only thing he could accomplish was to get his head and one leg through the the bars.  His shell was easily twice the size of the space he was trying to squeeze through and it kept banging up against the fence.  The turtle was bound and determined to get through that fence and it was abundantly clear that it was never going to happen. 

As I sat in the driveway watching poor little turtle mcshell trying to escape; a thought flashed into my mind.  I could help the turtle to get free!  All I had to do was turn the latch, open the fence, and let my little hero in the half shell walk right out of the yard.  He would then be free to walk down the driveway and into the street where he would probably be killed by one of our friendly Texas drivers.  As I shuddered at the possibility of his little turtle death, I decided not to free him.  I figured that it would be better to leave him inside the fence where he would continue to be frustrated, but safe.  If I would have had time to do so, I would have picked him up and driven him over to a nearby pond and set him free in a safe location.  But since I didn't have time, I decided he was better off in his current situation.  When my customer came out, I told him about the trapped turtle and he said that he would tell his neighbor to get him out. 

Here's the analogy.  Sometimes we can see right where we want to go and we see the path that we want to take to get there.  Just like my little turtle friend was trying to squeeze through the poles in the fence, we try to force our way into the direction that we want to go.  And God is sitting there the whole time watching us struggle; yet continuing to protect us from the dangers that we don't know are out there.  God has the ability and the desire to let you out of one situation so that you can continue on your journey.  But he also has the desire to see that you remain safe until He can move you to a safer location later on.  Just as I knew I couldn't keep the turtle safe once I let him out, God knows that you will not be safe outside of His protective hedge.  So He leaves you where you are; just like I left the turtle where he was.  I felt bad that I had to leave the turtle inside the fence.  But competing against the bad feelings were the satisfaction that I had in knowing the turtle (though frustrated) was safer inside the fence than outside the fence.  God feels your pain when you are frustrated, and it does grieve Him to see you unhappy.  But He looks over all of that frustration because He knows that you are better off where you are at the current time.  But don't lose heart!  There is a reason that there is a latch on the gate.  It is not God's intention to leave you behind the fence forever.  He is simply waiting for the right moment to free you and put you in the exact place that you belong.  A place where you can prosper, grow, and continue to do His will. 

God places the fences in our lives for a reason.  Just as the turtle could see a better place out there, God allows us to see a glimpse of a better situation than where we are.  And I believe that he allows us to get that glimpse to build a desire in us to go to that next place in our lives.  The fence is different from a closed door.  God places a closed door in front of you to make you change direction.  But a fence is different.  God places a fence in front of you so that you can see through the fence to the place where you want to go.  And once we see that place, we want to get there as soon as we can.  But we have to be patient.  And we have to use this time behind the fence to prepare ourselves for what we have to do when the fence is open.  So for now, enjoy the view.  Prepare yourself for the trip.  God is giving you the resources where you are right now in order to get you ready for when He releases you.  And when he does, you can continue the journey on the path that He has placed before you.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike

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