“One of the reasons we love creation so much is that it is always doing the will of the Father. Tree and chipmunk, deer and hawk are all busy doing the will of God.” – Richard Foster 

I was on a work call in our backyard when my 3-year-old Golden Retriever interrupted with a frantic bark that turned into a growling sprint through the yard. Duncan is typically quiet and lazy, so his sudden energy made me curious. I surveyed our small yard and noted nothing unusual, but I trusted his reaction more than my eyes. Keeping my watch, I eventually spotted a small cat walking the top of the fence like a tightrope. 

No one taught Duncan to protect our yard or trained him to chase cats away. He was just being a dog. Or, in the words of author Richard Foster, he was just “busy doing the will of God.” It strikes me that we have something to learn from such a perspective. 

Maybe we only need to look as far as a tree to see that God’s will is neither test nor scavenger hunt. Perhaps, through a hummingbird’s hover, God shows us that He is not waiting for us to try harder, sacrifice more or suffer longer so that He can finally uncover His mysterious plans for us. Could it be that we have made things harder than God intended?