God Speaking

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers”

(1 Peter 3: 12)

As we are entering summer weather, restrictions imposed months ago due  to the corona virus, have relaxed slightly and families are now allowed to go to local beaches and parks and  as I was watching the television news it was showing a mother and father with a toddler, paddling in the ocean.  I was fascinated to watch the loving tender care both parents were taking of their little one, never taking their eyes of him. He was adventurous and unaware of any danger the ocean might hold, but every time he wanted to keep wading into deeper water, his parents would guide him back to safety. It reminded me of the beautiful promises found in God’s word of how he keeps his eyes on us and constantly guides us to safer waters. Sometimes we ignore his advice and decide we are quite capable to look after our own lives and do not need him to meddle in them.

Sometimes toddlers are the opposite to our first little one and are too timid to venture into the water to paddle then we see loving parents gently encourage new adventures. When we look at nature, we see protecting parents lovingly caring for their young and constantly keeping them safe near them.

Nature programs have wonderful illustrations of   how parents care for their offspring and the Lord used   these illustrations in his word to show how he cares for us. One program I was watching showed a mother seal who has to go on land to deliver her baby and when the sun is very hot in the middle of the day she lies beside the little one so it is protected from the sun  by her shadow. This is what God does for us when troubles exhaust us.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91: 1)

Again, nature is used to illustrate the Lord’s all-encompassing protection he promises us. When a mother hen has her chicks, she protects them from danger by covering then completely with her feathers and Psalm 91 tells us that we too can seek refuge under the feathers of our Lord when anything frightens us or life overwhelms us.

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.” (Psalm 91: 4)

The Lord also promises to never forsake us and this too is obvious in nature, when a young foal is born in the wild the mother keeps him always by her side, ready to fight off any danger that might come.

“Be strong and courageous do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord your God goes with you and will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31: 6)

The world is swamped with fear and panic of this ugly virus sweeping the world, but when we remember that the watchful eye of our Father is always upon us, we can relax and trust him.