3 The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” Isaiah 1:3 (NKJV)
By Bro. John L. Cash, “Country Preacher Dad”
I learned a spiritual lesson about faith and trust from a house cat this week. Our grey-and-black-tabby-cat “Sister” got very sick and had to be taken to the vet. I’ve tended to a lot of sick house pets in my life, and I’ll bet you have, too. I think you’ll agree the process can sometimes be unpleasant. When called to doctor on a infectious feline, you’re usually faced with a lot of yowling and hissing, hollering and escaping, scratching and biting.
But this time, Sister-cat was none of those things. She slept quietly and soundly when we placed her in the cat carrier, and she didn’t object when the doctor examined her. She didn’t even panic nor try to flee when the vet took her temperature with the most unpleasant kind of kitty-cat thermometer. (You know the one.)
On the car ride home, she purred when she realized it was Seth who was holding her cage on his lap. She was thrilled to get back to the house, and she has taken her medicine by mouth each day without protest. I’m simply amazed.
I think the answer to all this lies in the fact that Sister is a smart little house cat. She realizes that in the 5 ½ years that we’ve owned her (or she has owned us), we’ve never done anything to harm her but instead have always tried to make sure she is well taken care of. This time, she was sick enough to realize she needed help. And she was smart enough to realize that help was the thing we were trying to give her.
In today’s Scripture lesson (at the top), the Lord speaks through the prophet Isaiah. He says that lots of animals are smarter than their owners. The ox knows his master takes care of him. The donkey knows his master feeds him. But people don’t remember that God is their Master, and that He lovingly cares for His children.
Stop and think for a moment about your life. Has God not always cared for you with kindness and tender mercies? Has He ever failed you? Why do you fear He will harm you or fail you now?
Whatever your circumstances, entrust them to the Lord, and put your faith in Him today. You only need the faith of a mustard seed. (Or a house cat.)
Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 26 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days he has a desk-job at a public school and teaches Latin on closed-circuit-television.) He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 20) and Seth (age 17) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the other church-cat, “Miss Louvenia,” is jealous of all the attention Sister has been getting.) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to countrypreacherdad@gaggle.net.
