In a couple weeks, my beagle (Kayah) turns two years old. I remember the July evening we brought her home (see photo). She was so small at just 8 weeks of age, and one of the most adorable creatures I had ever laid eyes on.
However, her whining that night was far from adorable.
We placed Kayah in her crate to sleep overnight. Since this was the first time she had ever been alone, she understandably whined. We figured she'd whimper and yip for an hour or so before finally falling asleep. How wrong we were! She whined for hours. Finally, at insane-o'clock, I got up and cuddled with her on the couch. Within minutes she was out. It seemed she just needed to know she wasn't alone and that she was safe.
Like baby Kayah, we often whine about things in life. We whine about not having enough money. We whimper that we don't have a certain relationship. We complain about the stupidity of the news anchors or our political opposite (or even those closest to us!). We worry about tomorrow. We fret over our health. And then we let our wailings come out in our prayers and attitude.
Yet, I think if we realized just how "safe" we truly are, our whimpering (like Kayah's) would be silenced.
If you follow Jesus, your Lord said in John 10:28-29...
"I give [my followers] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
John 10:28-29 (ESV - "my followers" added for clarity)
If your life is "in Christ," then you are completely safe. Meaning that even if cancer takes your life, or the creditors take your house, or a car crash takes your legs, or your boss takes your job, you are completely, eternally, spiritually safe. You belong to God! (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) His Spirit is in you and sealed you as His. (Ephesians 1:13-14) Nothing - not Satan, not the culture, not anything - can pluck you out of His hand.
I know this truth doesn't bring the immediate easy fix so many want. Yet, I hope it can bring you peace. When I took Kayah out of that crate that night, I couldn't put her in a pen with her mom like she had experienced every night of her short 8-week life. Yet she was going to be fine. Likewise, while God can heal and restore, sometimes He is working far deeper than we realize. May you have a peace that surpasses understanding because you are safe in His hand.
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