Heeding Guidance - Jonathan Voos

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Heeding Guidance

What My Blind Dog Taught Me About Christianity

What My Blind Dog Taught Me About Christianity

December 24, 2023

Dear reader,

This Christmas Eve morning, I awoke to the sound of Macy—my family’s 15-year-old blind dog—pinballing her way around my room. She ran into my water bottle, shoes, computer bag, and several other things before finally stopping next to my bed.

Macy did not want to be next to my bed. In her old age and blindness, she has reverted back into puppy mode with how she roots around. And because of her bad separation anxiety, she always wants to be next to my mom.

But Macy was stuck. The space between my bed and dresser is narrow and filled with obstacles—especially for a 17 pound dog who can’t see or hear. After pausing for a few moments of petting, a new coin slotted into the pinball machine in her brain. She kept blundering forward toward my wall—the wrong direction.

Because the space is narrow and because I was still laying in my bed, I did not pick her up and place her where she wanted to be. Instead, I tried to turn her head such that she would turn her whole body toward the door. But the blind dog kept pressing forward. I sat her down and tried turning her head again—this time beginning to turn some of her body as well (she’s only 17 pounds after all). But Macy immediately redirected herself back toward my wall.

So, I sat her down and turned her head for a third time—this time essentially forcing her to turn her whole body. She fought me the whole way. But after a couple seconds of continuing to push forward, she relented and let me turn her around. It would have been a significantly easier escape had Macy heeded my direction. But the blind and deaf dog stubbornly continued to do her own thing until I forced her to turn around.

As I was completing this third attempt, I asked her three times: “Won’t you just follow my direction?” Immediately after, I wondered “Is this how God sometimes feels about us?”

He certainly felt that way at times about the nation of Israel. Isaiah writes:

“Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord? He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.” Isaiah 42:18–20 ESV.

He also felt that way about the Pharisees. After the Pharisees questioned his healing of the blind man in John 9, Jesus rebuked their spiritual blindness. John writes:

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” John 9:39–41 ESV.

So how does this concept of spiritual blindness apply in the modern world? It seems to me that there are two general categories of spiritual blindness. First, unbelievers are spiritually blind. Paul clearly addresses the situation unbelievers face in Romans 1:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. . . . And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” Romans 1:18–20, 28 ESV.

Second, believers who acknowledge the saving nature of Christ but fail to follow His direction are spiritually blind. This category likely has included all believers at various times. It is most analogous to Macy’s struggles this morning because Christians benefit from the indwelt presence of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:12 says: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”

And as GotQuestions.com writes, “The indwelling Holy Spirit empowers the yielded believer to live for Christ to do His will (Galatians 5:16). The Spirit leads the believer in paths of righteousness (Romans 8:14).”

So, like Macy had me to guide her out of my room, Christians have the Holy Spirit to guide us down the path of righteousness—if we listen. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 warns us: “Do not quench the Spirit.” When we quench the Spirit, we do not heed his guidance because we are not looking for his direction. And when we fail to heed this guidance, we end up like Macy—fruitlessly struggling while going the wrong direction.

Accordingly, when we do our own thing instead of seeking His face, it’s easy to imagine the Holy Spirit asking something similar to what I asked Macy: Won’t you just follow my direction?

Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.“ And Matthew 22:36–40 tells us the Greatest Commandments are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

These passages both clearly command us to place God at the center of all parts of our life. When we are spiritually blind—no matter whether our blindness stems from distraction, habitual sin, or simply a failure to seek God’s will for our lives—we are not all in with our faith. He is the Good Shepherd and will always seek out His lost sheep. But sometimes, we will have to learn a valuable lesson in the process.

So, this Christmas season, I want to encourage everyone to seek God’s face. Spend time in God’s Word, corporate worship, personal prayer, fruitful conversation with family and friends, and other beneficial practices. Have a Merry Christmas!