Our friend Joyanna
I am nibbling on my cereal; he’s not here this morning, he’s gone with his master, Louis. Imagine it: his eyes fixed on me…on my bowl, his round, black eyes that nothing can distract. He waits patiently for a crunchy morsel he can get his lips around.
So, have you guessed? Harry is a dog…and not just any dog, because he belongs to Louis. In his village, they call him “Prince Harry”, a fine name for this French bulldog with a beige coat.
Almost everybody knows Harry because he likes to visit all the houses in the village. Let me tell you about it….
He has a big garden sounded by a hedge. Every so often, he has to go outside for his “needs”… Keep your eyes on him because in a few seconds, he’ll disappear through the hole under the hedge that nobody can see, except him!
And each time, we think, “He won’t do it again; oh, but he has.”
When Harry decides to run away, he always finds some way to escape.
“Harry! Harry! Come back, Harry!” He can’t hear our shouts…or, more likely, just isn’t listening.
Harry is just too interested in all the other houses which, to him, mean adventure…and nice things to eat. Meanwhile, we worry about him: the road, the cars, gardens damaged when he runs through them.
His favourite sport number 1: chasing frightened cats who run away when they see him.
His favourite sport number 2: emptying all the dishes full of dog/cat food.
His favourite sport number 3: letting himself be spoiled by anyone happy to stroke him.
But Harry doesn’t just have friends. Some people have threatened to throw him into the dog pound (a kind of prison for stray dogs), if he comes into their garden. And sometimes, his adventures don’t end very well.
There is now an electric fence around the hedge…a limit beyond which he can no longer go.
I know Harry is just a dog, but his story somehow applies to us as well, don’t you think?
We often don’t understand our parents when they give us instructions for all sorts of things, and we say, “Yes, I know.” They love us and are just trying to protect us.
In Proverbs 8:29, the Bible says, “I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.” Just imagine what it would be like if the sea could cover the land whenever it felt like it.
Pray and ask Jesus to help you to follow good advice from your parents, other people around us and from the word of God, the Bible.
In the Old Testament, we read how Joshua – the leader of Israel after Moses – won great victories to conquer the land promised by God to His people. Everybody knows about the victory at Jericho. But God’s people also suffered a terrible defeat.
After the victory at Jericho, God ordered Israel not to take anything from the city except the precious things (silver, gold, bronze) for the Lord’s treasury (Joshua 6:19). The rest was to be completely burned.
Except that…well, I’ll tell you what it says in God’s word…
The next battle ended in defeat. Some of God’s army were killed. It was the battle for the town of Aï. Why was there such a defeat when God was leading His people?
God showed Joshua what one of his men, Acan, had done. He had gone beyond the limits set by God after the battle of Jericho. Acan admitted, “I saw, I wanted, and I took a previous coat, 200 pieces of silver and a block of gold, and I hid them in the ground in the middle of my tent.”
It ended very badly for Acan. He was severely punished…in fact, he died.
See, want, take, hide…it’s very often what can be in our hearts as well if we do not listen to what God says to us through his Word.
When we go beyond the limits by using the computer or our phone during school lessons; when our friends show us pictures and photos or ask us to watch television programmes and films full of violence and bad language, there’s always a choice to make. What are we going to do? And there are lots of other similar situations.
Never be afraid to say NO, to completely refuse to let yourself be corrupted. Then you will have God’s victory through Jesus, and will be the happiest young people in the world!
Every morning, ask God to help you to stay within His limits, because it is He who wants to give true happiness and peace in your heart.
Your friend, Joyanna /Ann
