What do dogs know?

I feel the need to start by saying I am, and always have been, a dog lover.

While I don't have any now, I've had dogs in my home for many years.

I truly love everything about them.

They're faithful, loyal, loving, and are always happy to see you when you walk in the door.

For me, they're just a joy to be around.

We had an interesting experience in our family lately.

A family member brought a dog home.

Seeing as how family is very important, she wanted to ensure her new dog got along with everyone in the family.

In this pursuit, she's invited many people to her home to meet this new addition and see how things went.

From what I've heard, things have gone very well with just one exception.

The dog apparently has an issue with my wife, the matriarch of the family.

She couldn't understand why this animal doesn't seem to like her very much.

But, being around dogs as often as I have been, I have an understanding of why this might be happening.

You see, the moment she saw a picture of it, my wife was afraid of it.

There was just something about the dog's appearance that frightened her.

When they first met, she had that fear in her heart.

Here's the thing about dogs:

They have an uncanny ability to sense fear immediately.

While I'm no expert on the psychological makeup of dogs, I know this:

When they sense fear, they tend to react to it in ways we might wish they didn't.

They can become suspicious, and as a result, can act a bit more aggressively.

This, of course, can lead to even more fear.

This experience got me thinking about the impact of fear in our lives.

How many times, over the course of your lives, has fear caused you to react in ways you wish you hadn't?

How many opportunities have been lost due to fear?

How many times have all of us chosen to not speak up for what we know is right due to the fear of being ridiculed, insulted, or rejected, only to regret not speaking up later?

Fear is an incredibly powerful emotion.

Within our natural "fight or flight" instincts, it can cause us to do the unthinkable as well as allowing the unthinkable to happen to others as we sit idly by, afraid to speak out against it.

No matter the ultimate cause, there's is almost always deep regret felt within us afterward for having those fears.

Whenever fear is mentioned in the Bible, the teaching on it is always negative.

In it, we are told repeatedly, emphatically, to rid ourselves of fear.

The examples of this can be found throughout, and are far too vast and overwhelming to list in their entirety.

It's been stated that the words "fear not" appear 365 times in the Bible.

How odd that there'd be a reason for us not to fear for every day of the year.

Here are just a few examples:

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will withhold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, of love, and self control." - 2 Timothy 1:7

And in one of the most well known bible verses, we read:

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Of course, all of these verses assume one thing.

They assume we are trusting God, seeking His guidance, wisdom, and direction on a daily basis.

One day at a time.

There's one last thing I feel I should mention.

People can also sense fear in us.

Governments and politicians can sense it, and will often use our own fears against us in an effort to control what we think, do, and say for their own benefit.

They'll use it in an effort to either gain or achieve power over us. 

They'll use it to manipulate us and divide us.

And, of course, the media will do the very same things.

If you find yourself in fear of what's going on in the world around us, in our countries, in our governments, or even in our communities, know this:

There is nothing happening in this world that God isn't aware of.

There is no shift in any balance of power that didn't first pass through His hands.

God is absolutely, positively in control of all things.

No matter how bleak things may appear, everything that has happened in the history of the world, or will happen in the future, will all lead to the ultimate goal of His will being accomplished in our world as well as in our individual lives. 

All we need to do is trust Him.