As I think back, we have had many great animal adventures. Our kids have had all different kinds of pets over the years. We used to refer to it as our family zoo.
The story I am thinking of right now is about hamsters. Our son had one and our daughter had one. One day they decided to find out what would happen if they put them together. You probably guessed it, before we knew it we had lots of baby hamsters.
That year the kids and I went to church camp and since Fred had to work he stayed home and he was also the babysitter of all the hamsters. We would talk to each other on the phone every night. One night while we were talking Fred happened to look under the kitchen table and saw a lot of tiny little eyes looking back at him! That's right, they had escaped! Wow! How was Fred going to catch all those little guys? Then he came up with a plan. The cage they lived in had a lot of little tubes in it, so Fred was able to take one of the tubes and place it on the floor and lure them into it by placing food in it. So one by one the little guys were caught and placed back into the hamster cage. Have you ever wondered what we must look like to small animals like hamsters? If we place ourselves in their place and look through their eyes, we must look like Giants. And, I wonder if we look scary to them.
I know that some of us are afraid of God- not because God is scary, but because we don't really know Him or we have the wrong picture or idea of Him. And, when we have the wrong picture of Him we may think why would I want to know Him? There are a lot of wrong things going around about God and His character, but when we really find out what He is like we find out He is wonderful! He is loving and kind and is always there for us.
The Bible tells us that "God is love." 1 John 4:16 It also says that God loved us so much! He had a plan."For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."John 3:16
God is also compassionate and patient. (Psalm 86:15) I personally am thankful for this! This paints a completely different picture of God than some of the things I have heard over the years. He is loving and kind. He is not just standing there waiting for us to mess up- He is there waiting to forgive us and help us back up when we do mess up. A God that loves us so much that he gave His son for us. And Jesus- His Son- loves us in the same way- He gave His life for us. This is an amazing love!
I'm sure the little hamsters were probably scared of the big giant named Fred, but they didn't realize Fred wouldn't hurt them and was only trying to do what was best for them- getting them back to a safe place where they had protection, food and water.
God only wants what is best for us. He even tells us to cast our burdens or cares upon Him. (Psalm 55:22) He will help us.We do not have to handle things all by ourselves. He even says He will help us with our fears! (Psalm 34:4) When we do this we can feel calm and peaceful, knowing He will take care of us. He is a God that cares about every area of our lives - we are important to Him and He wants what's best for us.
He loves you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)
YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO HIM! AND YOU ARE LOVED!
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