Published a few months ago in "More Than Survivors"........
A couple nights ago, I was awakened out of a sound slumber
at 1:00am by a neighborhood dog. The
animal was obviously in great distress, for he was howling - almost shrieking
or wailing - non-stop. (It somewhat
resembled ear-shattering "surround-sound" on my FL wetland acreage). I
went outside to try to determine which direction the sound was coming from, and
it seemed to be issuing from the direction of my friend's home. I knew that her husband was away from home on
business, so I went back inside, dressed, and hopped in my car to go check the
situation out. When I arrived at the end
of my lane, the night suddenly resumed its peaceful quietness, with only the
normal sounds of the wetland stirring the darkness. Still concerned, I drove the short distance
and pulled in front of their locked gate.
There were no alarming sounds coming from the homestead; however, as I
sat there, a tiny pinpoint of light traveled across their property and then went
out. I sat there trying to make a
logical, wise decision on whether or not to call my friend, possibly waking her
up.
End result.....I decided to go back home and email my friend
to call me as soon as she got the message.
Figuring I would also call her first thing in the morning, I tried to go
back to sleep, but uncertainty about my decision made that a little
difficult. As it turned out, she was
fine and had slept through the whole incident.
Obviously, the problem was not with her dogs. Perhaps the "terrified dog" was a
wild animal in the wetlands, but we aren't certain of that, and we still have
not figured out an explanation for the light, either. In hindsight, the decision was probably the
right one, but it could so easily have been the absolute wrong one - especially
if that light represented an intruder on the property with malicious
intent.
The evening before, in our Bible study, we had discussed the
first verse in Jude, where Jesus' half brother, Jude, writes to those who are "dearly loved
by God the Father and kept for Jesus
Christ." It struck me how vast
was the difference between how I loved my friend and tried in a very small way
to keep her safe - and how the Father dearly loves me and keeps me!
I guessed at a decision with
my friend that turned out ok but could have been disastrous. God
never guesses concerning me. He
knows my life from beginning to end, before I ever came to be (Jeremiah 1:5). He knows my coming and going (II Kings 19:27; Psalm 121:8) and
all the incidents and their results that I will come into contact with
throughout my whole span on earth (Psalm 37:18a). In fact,
every single one of those incidents must go through His hand of permission
before it can intersect with my life (Job 1:9-11, 2:6; I Corinthians 10:13). He only allows what will in some way work
together for good for my spiritual walk and for the Kingdom of God (Romans 8:28). The whole concept of evil, free will, and
God's sovereignty is too difficult for our finite minds to have a complete
grasp on, but that inability to understand the fullness does not take away from
any part of the truth of Scripture (II Timothy 3:16). Nor can our
finite minds even begin to get an indication of the true and complete scope of being
so "dearly loved" (John 3:16) and "kept" (Psalm 61:3, Psalm 91) by the
Creator and Ruler and Sovereign of all the universe.
"The Lord my God illumines my
darkness" (Psalm
18:28b)
God was right on top of that situation with my friend. He "had her back" - and her front
and all around her (Psalm 34:7). He would not even consider allowing harm to my
friend that was not in His perfect plan for her life. God's love is a "walk in there and
confront the evil face to face" kind of love, "even if it killed Him"
- WHICH IT DID. At the cross, He
confronted Satan and all Satan's cohorts face to face for you and me, and DIED
in that confrontation with the world's evil (including my own evil and your own
evil). But, three days later, He rose in
victory over all death and over all evil for all eternity and, after 40 days, ascended to the throne.
Lord, open our eyes a
little bit more to the vastness of the scope of Your "dear love" for
us and to the overwhelming peace that
should come in the knowledge of Your "keeping" us (and each of our
loved ones) through all situations on
our journey through life.
