Battered

 by Macy Johnson

“Let His blood be on us

and on our children!”

(Matthew 27:25 NIV)

 

My husband, Jeff, was startled by a rattling sound in our neighbor’s yard. The otherwise quiet and peaceful afternoon came to an abrupt halt. He stood up from the glider on the porch and walked over to investigate the commotion.

 

A squirrel had found its way into an armadillo trap, and our neighbor’s dogs found the squirrel. Zoe, the small black dog, liked to chase squirrels and chipmunks, often catching one. She pushed and pulled on the wire cage. Jake, the black lab, shoved the cage with his massive muzzle.

 

Later that afternoon, James, our neighbor, told Jeff he had discovered the mangled metal trap halfway up his driveway with a battered and bloody squirrel inside. He couldn’t figure out what had happened. They shared a laugh as Jeff described the antics of James’ dogs.

 

Oswald Chambers wrote, “We are not quite prepared for the blows which must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. Are we willing to have the vision battered into shape and used by God? The batterings always come in commonplace ways and through commonplace people. He must dominate.”

 

I sometimes feel like that poor squirrel trapped in a cage. My personal plans get yanked and kicked around until they are unrecognizable. “What’s the use?” I ask myself. Yet, my struggles cannot compare to the sufferings my Lord experienced. He came to earth to be trapped, battered, and killed for me. His redemptive blood is on me and my children.

 

It does not matter what cage I might accidentally crawl into. He will hunt me down like a dog chasing the scent of a squirrel.

 

I will follow Jesus and share His vision with Him, no matter the consequences. I hope you will, too!