Trust In The Lord

I used to have a little dog that was a cross between a Pekingese and a Shitsu. Many people thought she was an ugly little thing with a pushed in nose and huge under bite but I loved my little Jasmine to bits…. she was my little girl.
Now, you don’t know my ‘adopted’ parents, Bevan and Lois, but they used to have a large property where they grew almonds. Just after my conversion in 1989, they unofficially adopted me and I lived with them on their property for two years.
Jasmine , or Jassie as she became known, came with me and was soon converted too, not to Christianity, but from a city dog to an ‘almost farm dog’. She used to go out with Bevan on the tractor or run around behind it, or sometimes ride with him on the motor bike. She had to get used to having a bath under the cold water hose instead of in the laundry trough with warm water. She had to learn to shake herself dry instead of having a blow dry with my hair dryer, and she had to get used to not sleeping on my bed. But she did enjoy the almonds that ‘accidently dropped’ from the sorting belt. I’m pretty sure that dad would ‘drop’ them on purpose.
Because I worked nights, I would see Jassie when I came home from work but then I’d go to bed and Jassie would hang around outside or she would follow dad around the farm while I slept. If she went out on the tractor with dad, she would often run behind the tractor when he came home.
Well, one day I heard the tractor coming home and greeted dad, expecting Jassie to be not far behind him. But as some time passed and she didn’t come home, I asked him if he had seen her. She had been with him but he thought she had come home. Well, maybe she had gone to visit one of the neighbours …. No we couldn’t find her at the neighbours.
So off we went in the ute to look for my beloved dog. Out to the area where dad had last seen her and then slowly back toward home with eyes peering from both sides of the car. We were almost home when my eye caught sight of something …. I couldn’t quite make out if it was her or not, but we decided to have a closer look ….. Oh Lord thank You it was my little Jassie …
As we drew closer to her, I expected her to run up to the ute, but no…. she sat rigidly still in that one spot and then we saw why. Up in the sky, not far away, was a crow. Jasmine had obviously upset it somehow and it had turned on her. Now Jasmine was petrified with fear. She knew that I loved her but she didn’t realize that I loved her so much, that I would do whatever it took to save her from that big bird. I had to get out of the ute, and with one eye on Jassie and the other on that big bird, walk over to her and pick her up. As I held her in my arms I could feel her trembling with fright and tears of relief rolled down my cheeks. It was an experience that neither of us would want to go through again.
Life is like that isn’t it! We can find ourselves in all sorts of trouble, whether it is in the area of finance, health or spiritual well being, and we can be overcome by fear and worry. But do you know what? Just as Mum, Dad and I went searching for Jasmine and brought her home to safety, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is always with us offering His help to cope with any problems that we are facing. There is absolutely no problem that is too big when Jesus is on our side.
So don’t be like Jassie and be petrified with fear ….. Trust in the Lord who has promised ‘never to leave you nor forsake you.’ He is our rock, our fortress and our hiding place ……. He is Our Saviour.