Do Not Be Like A Dog That Returns To Eat Its Vomit

“Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly”
Proverbs 26:11 TLV

“We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow Him”

As some of you may know I used to suffer terribly with insomnia. I was a very light sleeper (partially due to my past) and had periods in my life where I did not sleep for months on end. However, after accepting Jesus as my Lord, those days are long gone and I sleep peacefully. There is however, the rare occasion where my sleep is interrupted. Sometimes God calls me to step into intercessory prayer or sometimes I wake up to the sound of wretching and heaving…. Yep thats right Pablo (our dog) has eaten something he shouldn’t have eaten, or he forgot to chew his dinner. Now let me explain, Pablo sleeps on our bed, next to me, curled up in a ball, so you can imagine the thoughts that are rushing through my head……. “he is about to vomit on me” or “NOOOOOOOO I am going to have to change the bed sheets”, basically inconvenience. Now one particular evening luckily he was on his bed and he did throw up all of his food, by the time I had fumbled and turned the lights on he was mid process of eating back up the huge lump of dinner he had thrown up. So today we thank Pablo for being used as an instrument by God to share this revelation.

In Christ Jesus our sins are forgiven¹. For in Jesus there is life. The Lord is the only way to life. By walking through the narrow Way² and accepting Jesus as our Lord we are made clean by the blood of Jesus³. We get reclothed in perfect white garments⁴ before the Lord.
So imagine a dog that is sick, they throw up and bring out anything that was not good for them. It is not voluntary, but it is an involuntary action to make sure that they stay healthy. Something deep inside forces out the vomit.
Jesus frees us from sin⁵. The acceptance of Jesus make us clean from sin. Therefore, what was sin, what was bad for us, what was killing us, gets removed from us. It is now there in front us for everyone to see. It is the Holy Spirit that that shows us what is making us sick⁶. This is the start of the journey of making what was wrong right. This is the repairing of the damage done. The instant changing in our ways. For by accepting the Lord Jesus means we accept His way. To love our Father and to love our neighbour⁷. This is the way of the Lord. Therefore, once the Spirit has pulled out that which makes us sick, pulled out for us and all to see, we turn away from it⁸. For we are not called to be the dog that returns to its vomit.
By Jesus’s death, resurrection and His blood we are given new white garments. Why, therefore, return to the pit? The pit from where we came. The pit where our garments were made dirty in the first place. The pit is the world. Once you have been made clean, walk in the Spirit and no longer in this world⁹.

So let us look back to Pablo – why do dogs try and eat up the vomit they threw up? They bring it back up because it isn”t good for them, their body can not handle it.
-Fear. Fear that he wouldn’t eat again.
-Gluttony. He didn’t want to miss out on the meal he had in the past, even though it made him sick.
-Perhaps a lack of faith, to trust that it was removed from him for a reason and therefore he should leave it alone.
So do not be the dog that returns to its vomit. When the Holy Spirit removes things from you, from your life, from your habits that were killing you, have faith that God knows better and do not return to what was not good for you.

 

[1] Acts 3:19 – Repent, therefore, and return—so your sins might be blotted out 
[2] Matthew 7:13-14 – Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
[3]1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of His Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin.
[4]Revelation 7:9 – After these things I looked, and behold, a vast multitude that no one could count—from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues—was standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes, with palm branches^a] in their hands
[5] Romans 8:2 –  For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has set you free from the law of sin and death.
[6] John 16:8 – When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment:
[7] Matthew 22:37-39 – And He said to him, “‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ^a] ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
[8] 1 John 3:6 – No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who sins has seen Him or known Him
[9] Galatians 5:16-25 –As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self – life.^a] ¹⁷ For your self – life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self – life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self – life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.^b]But when you are brought into the full freedom of the Spirit^c] of grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law, but soaring above it!The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, ²⁰ chasing after things instead of God,^d] manipulating others,^e]hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, ²¹ being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions,^f] wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things^g]will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!But the fruit^h] produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:^I]
joy that overflows,^j]
peace that subdues,
patience^k] that endures,
kindness^l] in action,
a life full of virtue,^m]
faith that prevails,
gentleness of heart, and
strength of spirit.^n]
Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.^o]
 Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus, the Anointed One, have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self – life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah. ²⁵ We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow after him.