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Look to the Master

Writer's picture: Lori JacuminLori Jacumin

Updated: Feb 28, 2024

Preoccupied and Prayerless Series order #2

*See Order Index post for links to all Series content

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6


Marty has a Labrador Retriever named Zeus that has earned his Master Hunter title. This is a field trial competition that involves retrieving ducks where "judges score dogs on their natural ability to mark and remember a fall, on their hunting style, perseverance or courage. They are also scored on learned abilities such as steadiness, control, response and delivery."


As I watched Marty work with Zeus one day, I began thinking about the discipline involved in the relationship between these dogs and their masters and how similar it is to our relationship with God. You see, dogs like Zeus have been designed to retrieve. They have a natural drive and energy to take off after what is thrown or falling from the sky with intense focus and energy. Zeus executes the task Marty puts before him and returns, ready to take off for the next one, tail wagging, totally happy in his element - because this is what he was born to do. However, Zeus didn’t become proficient overnight. The passion, energy and drive was certainly there, but he needed to be trained. And it took time. A lot of time.


Zeus needed to learn how to follow the guidance of his master and trust him to get him where he needs to be. It took making mistakes for him to understand that even though he may think he knows where he’s going, he must trust his master enough to stop when he signals, turn around, and look to him to be shown which direction to go. If he tries to do it on his own, he could end up spending a lot of time and energy running in circles or distracted by a decoy that was never a part of the task he was sent to complete. And Zeus loves what he does and his master so much that he would literally run until he couldn’t anymore. Thankfully his master not only knows where he needs to be and how to get him there, he also knows when he needs to rest!


There is an incredible comfort and peace in knowing the same is true of us and God. Each one of us has been designed for a God-ordained, God-sized purpose. We may possess the passion, energy and drive that will be needed, but we must learn how to look to Jesus, follow His guidance and trust Him to get us where we need to be. He will probably need to stop us in our tracks more than once along the way, to remind us to look to Him and wait for His direction - to be reminded that He knows exactly where we need to be in order to accomplish the task He has given us. And it takes making mistakes to realize that if we try to do it on our own, we will inevitably end up wasting time and energy running in circles or distracted by something that was never a part of the task He sent us to complete.


I don’t know about you, but I am also thankful that God not only knows where I need to be and how to get me there, He knows when I need to rest! For some of us, that can take a great deal of trust and direction as well.


It’s so easy in this world full of distractions to lose sight of God’s plan and purpose for our lives. We can become preoccupied and prayerless, weighed down with the cares and worries of this world, striving to accomplish so much that God never gave us to do. We must remember to continually look to our Savior and follow His guidance, trusting Him to show us the way - unhindered.


For we are His creation, created  in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10



Lord, thank you for loving me and for your incredible grace and mercy when I get preoccupied and default to running along with the world and doing things my own way. I'm tired of wasting so much time and energy running around in circles and chasing what won't matter when all is said and done. Help me to stop, turn around and look to you for guidance when I begin to wander. Help me to be faithful to continually look to you for direction so that I can avoid the distractions around me and accomplish the work you have already prepared for me. In Jesus' name, Amen








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