Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Increased Strength


For more encouraging and uplifting Word-Filled Wednesday posts, visit Susan at Forever His.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Isaiah 40:29



We have loads of critters exactly like this one in our backyard, always scampering about trying to get at the birdseed. Actually, we like them. The other day when my daughter let our dog out, a fairly young squirrel like this one tried to escape via a dead limb which broke, dropping him with a loud banging sound atop our outdoor grill. He fell onto the ground, lying there limply whereupon our dog Fro hurried over (of course) and picked up this poor helpless creature in his mouth. Neesie , who was horrified, hollered at Fro to "drop it" (he's been trained to drop whatever he has at that command), which he promptly obeyed, and Neesie dragged him (Fro, not the squirrel) inside and then locked our bewildered dog in his crate. She came and got me and both of us stood at the back sliding door with sad hearts, watching this poor little bushy tailed animal trying unsuccessfully to lift itself up. We thought perhaps it had injured its spine or something. Finally, I did something: I prayed for him. Agree with me or not, that's what I did. I asked the Lord to either take him out of this world and end his misery or help him to get out of our yard. About 30 seconds later, he turned on his stomach and inched forward a bit; then, after another minute or so, he began to scamper at a pretty good pace across the yard and through the fence! A few minutes after that, we saw him heading up one of the bigger healthy trees in that yard!


I don't know what happened to him after that, of course, (they all look alike you know), but what a beautiful lesson this little critter was for me on Matthew 6:26 and the above Scripture. There have been and certainly will be times in my life and yours when we are physically, emotionally, and spiritually sapped of all strength. But the wonderful Creator God of this universe, who cares for the smallest of His creatures, won't He care for each one of us and increase our strength for yet another day in the journey?

13 comments:

Brian the old man said...

Thanks for the encouragemnt; it was needed today. God bless you.

Laurie said...

This scripture along with the photo and story really touched me, Maxine. I love that He keeps all of His promises, and this verse in Isaiah is a great encouragement, no matter what we go through in this life. I am so glad you prayed, for the Father tells us to pray about everything, and that the little squirrel survived!

Blessings and love,
Laurie

Denise said...

Very inspiring.

Michele said...

Oh what a great WFW!!! I'm loving that picture

Michele

Linda said...

I love this Maxine. It really is a beautiful illustration of the Father's amazing love and care.

Wanda said...

Lovely picture and I enjoyed your post. You seem like a very loving and caring soul to extend a prayer to Mr. Squirrel for we know God cares for the animals as well. And if He'll do it for the animals how much more shall he do it for us. Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hope you'll come again.

Your sister in Christ

Susan said...

Oh, what a great scripture Maxine, and such a tender story to go with it.

I sure would of prayed if I saw that myself. God loves that squirrel, He created it!

Thanks for sharing this...

And thanks also for your prayers and kind comment.

So glad you joined us today at WFW!

Kaye Swain - SandwichINK said...

Hi Maxine, Thank you for this delightful photo and words and verses of encouragement! Have a blessed Word-Filled week!

Bear said...

What a special devotional, beautifully illustrated!

Susan said...

Loved this Maxine. It is so special the way God uses so many every day happens to teach us more of His love for us. What a God!!!

Anonymous said...

It's awesome how God cares for each and every one of His creation. He even knows all of us by name, :)

Natalie at Mommy on Fire said...

Oh I love it - what a wonderful analogy and application to our lives. Great picture, too! Love that little face!

Debra said...

We have squirrels all over our yard in the early am. Is there any way to shoo them away?

I posted a story about a little bird just a while ago. My ending wasn't as happy!

Blessings Maxine!