In our faith journey, we can at times be guilty of wondering where God is. The truth is that it is not God who is absent, but rather us. We drift away. We fall out of spiritual practices. We give in to things like worry. It is not difficult to find yourself in a full-blown panic questioning things that you know to be true.
For example, we had a doozy of a week when it came to prophetic things, for those who watch for that. Jesus gave a very specific list of things to look for in Matthew chapter 24.
He says you will hear about wars. Check! Just turn on the news and watch Iran bombing Israel in real-time. Then listen to all the pundits talking about the inevitability of World War 3.
Jesus also said there would be earthquakes in different places. Check! A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey that was felt from Boston to Baltimore. It just happened to be the strongest earthquake on record.
Jesus talks about the sun being darkened. Check! While I do not believe the eclipse is directly tied to what Jesus is saying in Matthew 24, there was undoubtedly some major worry and anticipation surrounding this event. Nevermore were people looking up than on Monday 4/8 reminding people of the words of Jesus in Luke 21:28, “So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”
Despite all these things, I was not worried. I wait with eager anticipation for the return of Jesus and the rapture of His Church (Matthew 24:31).
So, what had me worried?
Saturday, we noticed that our cat, Bella, was not feeling well. Laugh at me all you want. Yes! I was more worried about my cat than the potential end of the world. She did not crawl into bed with us as she always does. She did not give me a 4 AM wake-up call asking for food. I could not find her when I got up. Major panic set in.
My family jokes with me and accuses me of loving Bella more than I love them. Bella and I have a special bond. We adopted her just before the first of my six major surgeries nearly three years ago. While I spent most of a two-year period in recovery lying on my back in bed it was Bella who was always by my side. We often joke and call her my nurse.
Sunday morning rolled around. We found her very lethargic and not acting like herself. I was in no mood to want to go to church and teach. I was worried “sick” seeing her not feeling well.
But, I knew that I had to go. There were 80+ people in our class for adults with IDD waiting to hear me teach the next lesson in our series called, “Did you hear that?” A series on the parables of Jesus.
I am almost embarrassed to admit that in my state of worry, I had forgotten the actual lesson I was about to teach. After a quick review, I shook my head in disbelief. It was one of those moments where only God could get the credit. I was about to teach about the parables of the birds of the air.
What is the main point of the parable?
The fact is that God loves the birds of the air, and He takes care of their needs. Jesus teaches in this parable the fact that we should NOT worry because God loves us even more than the birds.
In Matthew 6:25 Jesus says three simple yet powerful words. “Do not worry.”
Of course, it is easier said than done, but Jesus meant it. He wants us to relax and understand that God has got us. Not only will He take care of our basic needs, but He is also BIG enough to handle all the BIG stuff in our lives. It doesn’t matter if it is worrying about all the prophetic signs we see playing out before us or a sick pet at home that our heart breaks over. God can and will take care of all of it because He loves us.
The lesson was great and hit home with many people in the class. We talked about healthy and biblical strategies for dealing with our worries. It was one of those moments that I felt like I was preaching to myself.
But it wasn’t until I was packing up my stuff and getting ready to leave that God fully took my breath away. It was one of those moments that I will never forget.
A young man in the class walked up to me and said thank you for the lesson because he had been struggling with worry. He was new to the class, and I did not know who he was before today. He then went on to say, “I prayed to God last night and asked Him that I would get a lesson on how to deal with all the things that I worry about. God answered my prayer.”
I kid you not, I almost fell down. It was one of those moments when God reminds you exactly who is in control.
The class had no idea which parable I was going to teach today. God orchestrates everything perfectly. There is nothing that worries God. In a world that is spinning out of control, God reminds us that He has got this. Thank you, God!
So how is Bella?
As I type, she is at our local emergency vet. They kept her overnight. Her temperature was 104.7 and they suspected she had some type of viral infection. We are praying that it is nothing more than that. It is hard to NOT worry, but we are actively trusting in God. We are reminded that if He cares for all the birds of the air, He will no doubt care for our little Bella.
Thank you, God.
