“Daddy, I can’t sleep. The dogs won’t stop barking!” my drowsy daughter said.
“I’ll take care of it.” I sighed.
I was quickly growing tired of this. I stepped into my boots, went outside, turned on the water hose, and began spraying. The neighbor dogs took off running. But we had been doing this for days. There was no doubt the dogs would come back to bark at my dogs. I did not want to come out here again every hour. I dug around in the garage and found the rotating sprinkler. It was a last-resort, but it always worked. Even if it was December. The dogs would hunker down in the dry dog house and not make another sound until morning.
When we moved to a house in the country, we put our two dogs into the fenced-in dog pen in the backyard. Cowboy and Annie could not come in the house; my allergies would not allow it. We wanted to have dogs, but they had to stay outside. And they loved it out there. They loved the birds and squirrels and rabbits and possums and horses and goats and chickens. What’s not to like? But in the early days, I was just pleased our blue heelers never tried to jump the fence. It was the only barrier between the dogs and the highway.
The trouble was, the neighbors had dogs too. There was Blue, and Lippy, and Snowball–or those were the names my kids gave them anyway. Those three dogs would run circles around our house, barking and getting into things and acting like they owned the place. Our dogs would bark at the intruders, and the intruders would bark back. Sometimes it seemed like we were listening to barking dogs all night long. To make matters worse, there were other dogs in the area who wanted to join the fun. They may have been a quarter mile away, but on a quiet night, all the dogs could hear each other and the barking jamboree would go on for hours.
What did we do? We slept with fans going–white noise, they call it. And we took to wearing earplugs. And of course, I immediately repaired and replaced all the fences between my house and the neighbors. Anything to get those animals out of my yard at night!
“Deliver me from my enemies, O my God. Defend me from them that rise up against me … Save me from bloody men. For lo, they lie in wait for my soul. … They return at evening. They make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. … At evening, let them return. and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Let them wander up and down for meat, and growl if they be not satisfied. But I will sing of thy power, yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning. For thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing. For God is my defense, and the God of my mercy” Psalm 59:1-3,6,14-17.
David compares his enemies to circling, barking dogs. “They return at night, they make a noise like a dog and go round about the city” Psalm 59:6. David expresses confidence that God will handle these enemies, these dogs. “But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them … Consume them in wrath … let them know that God ruleth in Jacob” Psalm 59:8,13.
David gives the problem to God. David KNOWS God will handle it. And then David says something interesting:
“At evening let them return. And let them make a noise like a dog” and go around the city barking and growling, Psalm 59:14-15.
In other words, David is certain God will handle his enemies. But David knows they will remain out there, circling the city and barking at night. There is an application here for us:
Often God will protect us from enemies while still allowing them to bark at us, harassing us and driving us into His arms.
God may be protecting you from your enemies though they remain in your life, an ongoing source of noise and discomfort. God will “prepare a table before me in the PRESENCE of my enemies,” Psalm 23:5. God will take care of us even as our enemies remain in the picture. Such struggles keep us coming back to God, leaning on Him. Going to Him about the noise just as my daughter came to me when she could not sleep.
Give your problems to God. Talk to Him about your fears, anxieties, worries, and dread. Trust God to handle your problems and to protect you. But be prepared for enemies who may remain in your life. Barking like dogs.
AΩ.
Household Words: 