Our fiercely protective God

Image source: liekearends.com

A friend of ours told us the story yesterday of what happened to her husband's puppy.  While her husband was at work, she and the puppy were enjoying some time in their yard.  Then the neighbor lady let her dog out.  The neighbor knew that her dog - a Pit Bull - was aggressive, and had promised to never let the dog out when our friend's puppy or son are outside, but because of her dementia she sometimes forgets things.  The two yards yards are only separated by a low, flimsy chain-link fence.

Our friend's dog is very curious, especially of the growling Pit Bull next door.  As the dog went to investigate, the barking Pit Bull reached through the fence and grabbed the puppy by the neck.  He started to yank the other dog violently.

At this point our friend started shouting to the neighbor and tried to separate the two dogs.  Nothing worked.  Because of her failing health, the neighbor was also unable to do anything about her dog.  As the Pit Bull continued to yank, our friend's dog started to slide under the fence.

Finally in desperation our friend jumped the fence and got on top of the Pit Bull.  She squeezed with her knees so the dog couldn't breathe.  When that didn't work she tried to choke him out.  The Pit bull was absolutely unfazed continued to yank viciously.

At this point our friend had had enough.  She started punching the Pit Bull in the face until it released her dog.  The amazing part of this story is that our friend is about 5' 6" tall and 120 lbs. soaking wet - not a big girl by any stretch of the imagination.  The Pit Bull could have eaten her for an afternoon snack.  But at that point, all that mattered was protecting her husband's dog.

What a perfect picture of the heart of God.  Look at what David said about Him:

The lord himself watches over you! The lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

The lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

The lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

   -  Psalm 121:5-8 NLT

... and in another verse, he writes:

The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear God, and he saves them.

   -  Psalm 34:7 

No matter what you're going through or how bad things seem, you are not alone!  God is watching over you.  Yes, there is a devil who hates you and wants to take you out.  But if you'll pursue God with all your heart and trust Him to deliver you, you'll see Him do amazing things.  You can't earn His love.  And you can't do enough bad things for Him to not love you anymore.

We've seen Him come through for us over and over.  But even if our experience were to differ from what these verses state, it doesn't change who God is.  He is faithful and He can be trusted.  Run to Him, not from Him.

For all you animal lovers out there: Don't worry... our friend's dog is fine.  The wounds were superficial, requiring only a few stitches.  And the Pit Bull is fine too.

PS. If you don't believe in the devil, that's okay   You're entitled to your beliefs.  But Jesus obviously believed in him, and taught about him often. (See Matthew 13:19, 36-43, 12:24-28; Luke 10:18, 11:18; John 8:43-44, 10:10, 12:31-32, 14:30, 16:11... and this isn't even a definitive list).

Two silver candlesticks (redemptive endings)

At the beginning of the legendary musical, Les Miserables, Jean Valjean had just been released from prison after 19 years.  he came to a new town where he was forced to show his prison release papers.  The mayor and townspeople, as well as the local jail and other businesses refuse to help him or give him anything to eat.  The only one that will feed him is Mr. Myriel, the local Bishop.  He not only feeds Valjean, he invites him to spend the night.  Valjean returns the favor by stealing Bishop Myriel’s only “fineries” – silver utensils – and leaving in the middle of the night.
Valjean is caught by the police and brought back to face Myriel.  When the bishop sees him, he claims he gave Valjean the silverware as a gift.  Myriel adds, “You forgot to take the silver candlesticks that go with the silverware.”
After the police leave, the bishop offers him forgiveness and tells him to live an honest life.  The rest of the musical is about Valjean’s attempt to do so.
We all love stories with a redemptive ending.  Why?  There is something in each of us that cries out for a redemptive ending to our broken lives.  The Bible is full of these redemptive stories, for instance:

• Joseph – Gen. 50:20 “You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people.”
• Moses – Acts 7:20-36 God brought Moses full circle to face his failure so he could learn to trust God to fulfill his destiny.
• Woman caught in adultery – Jn. 8:1-11 She was rescued from a death sentence.
• Prodigal son – Lk. 15:11-32 Welcomed home & forgiven by a loving father… even after committing the worst act of betrayal.

Now notice Heb. 4:16…

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Some people have endured unimaginable pain and horrors – betrayal, neglect & abuse – sometimes even at the hands of those they should have been able to trust.  God offers you grace to help you let it go.  Forgiving others will bring you freedom!  And, like Joseph, God can turn these horrible things into something beautiful, if we’ll let Him.
Others have been the ones causing the pain.  You need to come to the Father and, like the Prodigal Son, find mercy.  You will need to make things right, but you will find freedom and forgiveness.