Yesterday
I shared this photo on facebook asking, “What does trusting God
look like?”
As
a former cat lady, I came to see a truth unfold about cats: They only
sleep like this when are are completely at peace with where they are.
Wild cats do not sleep like this. Neither do feral cats nor strays.
My
lady, Polo, was transported away from us on her 1st Birthday. We
lived where people came and went frequently. It could have been an
accident. But she was gone for a whole year, arriving back home in
the same month that she had disappeared. She knew she was home, but
she was still on alert, looking over her shoulder constantly and
sleeping only briefly with her senses on full alert.
Eventually,
she calmed down and began to sleep comfortably with her brothers and
mother around her. But she never, ever trusted strangers again. She
could take off faster than a rocket ship when any stranger came
around her. She gained quite a reputation as a sprinter. She never quite got this comfortable again.
As
I live among loved ones who are in many different types of troubling
and suffering, I find it difficult to speak in sincere words rather
than cliches and well worn Bible verses. My greatest desire is that
God will hug them tightly as they travel through these troubles and
will make His presence known to them.
Psalm
45 starts with just such a promise: God is (my) refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble.
I
choose to quote the King James here because “a very present help”
means something deeper to me than just “a help.”
To
me it says that God is in the midst of it. God is deeply present in
whatever is going on. He saw it coming, He was and is prepared for it
and He will help us to it, through it, or out the other end of it, as
He sees fit. But He will never, ever, leave us alone in it. He
suffers along side us as we walk the path He sets before us.
This
verse touched my heart today on behalf of those many whom I know who
are suffering through serious trials:
A
tiny daughter with something unknown taking her down. Some tests have
revealed that the worst case is not the reason. But more tests must
be done and a diagnosis must be made. This is frightening. They need
to know and trust God's part in this.
Another
family with a second diagnosis of Juvenile diabetes.
Cancer
patients in various stages of healing; a great grandfather separated
from his family due to insurance issues and his need to be diagnosed
through test after test on his veins; families who have just adopted
and those who are seeking adoption against the wall of bills that
will need to be paid overall, and the heartbreak of anticipation; but
they are determined to give a baby a loving home; and then. there are friends with
issues too personal to mention. They all need the strength that God
has for them if they rest in Him and and
a heart that knows that He is present
with them every hour of everyday.
I
can only pray that God will strongly make His presence known to them
all and be with them as He has promised in many places in His word.
And I pray that they will feel His presence and find their strength
in Him, as He walks with them, never leaving their side.
There
are approximately 104 Bible references to God's UNFAILING LOVE. This
is just one:
Psalm
27:3 – For I am constantly aware of your unfailing love, and I have
lived according to (that)
truth.
May
we all live with this truth at the front of our minds and imbedded
deep in our hearts so that
we may bring peace to our hearts and glory to God as a result. Amen.
