2-1-2019

Good Morning All,

         Hebrews 13:5; “Be happy with what you have because God has said, “I will never abandon you or leave you.”

    Now that my grandchildren are getting a little older I am introducing them to the real cartoons like “Underdog”, “Roger Ramjet”, “Tom and Jerry” just to name a few.  Now I can watch them and not have someone ask me if I don’t think I am a little old to be watching cartoons; now it is just quality time with my grandkids.

    When you watch “Tom and Jerry”, there is always one part of the cartoon where something causes Tom (the cat) to think he is facing a giant mouse.  Sometimes it is really a baby kangaroo or some such other critter but it always sends him into a wild, wide-eyed, panic attack.  I remember one episode where he was being beaten up by this oversized mouse and he was just getting over his jitters when Jerry (the mouse) was trying to sneak past him in a room lit up by a flashlight.  As the mouse walked past the flashlight, the shadow on the wall was enormous and Tom went into a jittery panic.  He looked at the shadow and was terrorized; he should have looked at the mouse and seen a tiny creature.

    Our life can be that way.  There are many times when we look at the shadow and think the problem is insurmountable.  We let little things grow and grow until we cannot handle them.  Yet, if we are honest, we are like Mark Twain who once said, “I am an old man who has known many worries, most of which never happened.”  Most worries don’t materialize; they only existed in our mind and in our fears but not in our reality.

    The devil says, “look at the shadow!!”  God says, “look at the mouse.”  God invites us to see that the struggles and problems of this world, which we will experience, are not greater than His love for us.  Nothing in all of creation will separate us from God’s love.  This is a recurring voice throughout Scriptures.  God tells the Children of Israel this when they are about to enter the Promised land.  He told this to Joshua, He told this to King David, He told this to the Israelites when they were in captivity, he tells this to us.  God will not abandon you; never will it happen.  We may lose sight of God; this occurs often when the devil and our sinful nature convinces us to look at how big that shadow is but God keeps telling us, “look at the mouse; it’s not that big.”       

    So, whatever you face, whatever challenge, God encourages you to look at the size of the mouse, then look at the size of God’s love, then know where your comfort truly should lie.  It is not in my skill or my faith.  It is not in your skill or your faith.  It lies in the abundance of God’s mercy and His grace.  It is revealed to us in Jesus.  Stay focused on Him and all your struggles will be the mice they are and not the shadow that they are not.

Father of all grace, keep me mindful of your mercy and the love that you have for me.  Remind me that you have overcome all things, even death, through Jesus.  We know our hope and we know our future.  Defend us by your loving hands.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret