August 4, 2022 – Click here to listen
The weeds near the banks of my farm pond had grown up about waist high in a few places. It is a pain to hook up the big batwing cutter for my tractor but to trim the grass right next to the lake it had to be done. So it was hooked up and the wide cutter was lowered and used to hang over the lake and cut right next to it. Things were progressing nicely, and part of the grass was cut and suddenly up ahead a tiny fawn ran out. It was not even the size of a medium dog and appeared to have just been born. Immediately the cutting was stopped, and the little fellow looked around as though confused as to what to do and after a few moments awkwardly trotted back to the edge of the lake back into the high grass.
A wide berth was given the little fellow and a wide smile was on my face. Fawns grow quickly but they are most vulnerable from coyotes and other predators for a few days after their birth. The old mama doe had hidden her newborn fawn in these high grasses. A fawn of this age gives off no scent and it was a nifty sport to hide it. Although it seems the mama had deserted it there is no doubt she was watching from the nearby woods.
I saw a similar incident with a flock of Canada geese the other day. I was riding around the lake in an ATV and suddenly a half dozen little goslings came running out followed by an adult which had lowered its wing and was feigning an injury and trying to lead me away from her young ones. She was honking up a storm and protesting me being in their space and I obliged by stopping and allowing her time to quickly herd them into the woods.
I was thinking about this today and it reminded me of God. He may not always be visible such as the doe’s mama watching from the adjacent forest, but He is watching over His loved ones. Sometimes I suppose He takes a more active role in protecting His children like that mama goose or even an enraged grizzly bear and other times He endows them with unique abilities to avoid other animals that wish to destroy them.
Don’t ever think for a moment that God is not watching over you. You are not alone in this battle for survival. I know that sometimes you might feel lonely like you are fighting alone but think again. The Bible assures us over and again that God is always with us. And like the scentless fully camouflaged fawn replete with spots God has given us the full armor of God with which to win the battle against our enemies. Unlike the rest of the animal kingdom, He gave us a beautiful intellect and all we need to do is use it to follow Him to take advantage of it.
Our world can at times be scary. With so much violence and uncertainty, we can feel vulnerable and confused. Some people jump to the conclusion that God has abandoned them when things go wrong in their personal lives, but He is always with us. If we feel alone during our time of need, instead of running with the assumption that God has left us, we should work on opening our eyes to see where He is in the situation. The good that can come out of something bad isn’t always obvious or immediate but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. If you continue to have difficulty having faith that God has His eyes on us, you can always call out to Him to help you recognize His presence.
It’s wonderful to know that God is watching over us. And it’s not just so that He can make a note of when we get things wrong but so He can protect us and teach and guide us through life’s many trials. Follow Jesus Christ and not the world and trust Him.
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.