Does God Really Care?

by Karen Keim

This Week’s Verse: “For by him ALL things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. . . ALL things were created by him and for him.” Colossians 1:16 (NIV)

ALL THINGS? Oh, come on now. All things? You mean wiggly spiders and slimy snakes? You mean those pesty mosquitoes and biting fire ants? Hmmm. Does God really care for them? Well, you know, I’ve decided he does. In fact, after I gave it some thought and looked at some scripture, I KNOW he does. Let me tell you how all of this became an issue in this weak mind of mine. (You’ll probably have to work hard to stay with me on this one!)

One day last week while on my lunch hour, I was driving in the south end of our little town when a little puppy appeared in front of my vehicle. I had to stop to keep from hitting the cute little thing, and as I did, I noticed that she was wearing a collar. The poor thing was darting back and forth, trying to keep from getting hit by traffic, apparently without a clue as to which way to go. So, guess what I did. Yep, I got out of my vehicle and picked the little thing up, thinking to myself that some poor child has lost his puppy. I took her home. My husband called the police, and no one had reported a missing puppy, so now what do we do?

Well, the story from here gets a little complicated. I won’t go into ALL of the details, but the next day, the puppy ends up “visiting” my daughter-in-law’s parent’s store (see, I told you it’s confusing) in a town about 20 miles from here. Now, mind you, we were still looking for the owners of this puppy.

While the puppy is at the store, the daughter of an employee comes in and begins to ooh and aah over the puppy and asks if she can take the puppy to the local Rural King to show it to her friend. So, here goes this little puppy on another excursion! The young lady takes the puppy to Rural King and while she is talking to her friend, a patron overhears their conversation. The patron says, “Did you say you found that puppy in Marshall?” (That’s the town we live in.) “I think that puppy belongs to my neighbor. If it does, PLEASE don’t give it back. They totally mistreat the puppy. I’ve called law enforcement and everybody I can think of to report it.”

Yikes! Now what do we do? Well, after an evening of investigating, we discovered that it was indeed the puppy she had spoken of. They hadn’t reported it missing, which told us a lot, and as we all began to think about it, we realized what had just happened – GOD, not me, had rescued this puppy. You don’t think so? Well, I know he did. There were way too many coincidences – no, I mean God-cidents:
* I was driving in an area I’m not normally in.
* I was driving the truck that day – a good thing to haul a puppy in.
* I picked up a puppy – totally out of my character.
* The puppy ends up 20 miles from here for a visit, “just happens” to be taken to the Rural King where the neighbor of the owner “overhears” a conversation . . . well, you get it!

Okay. So you’re probably wondering what happened to the puppy. We sent out e-mails to all of our e-mail contacts, and, lo and behold, we got a response from a grade school teacher who “just happened” to have lost her dog in June and was missing it so terribly she was going to the humane shelter that very weekend to get another one. When my husband and I took the puppy to her, she actually cried because she was so happy to have it! Wow! Did God do an amazing job of orchestrating the rescue of that little puppy or what? HE IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!

But do you know what the greater lesson is in all of this? If he cares that much about a little puppy, how much more do you think he cares for you? One of my favorite scriptures comes from Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” I KNOW God cares about that little puppy and all of the many other animals he created, but I also know from reading the Scripture that he cares even more for me, who was created in his very own image! Wow!

The Bible is full of references to God’s care for animals. Here are a few:
Psalm 104 says God quenches the thirst of the wild donkey. He causes grass to grow for the cattle. It says the high hills were created for the wild goats and the cliffs for the rock badgers. Did you know that according to the book of Exodus, not only were men and women to rest on the Sabbath day, but also cattle! God DOES care for the animals. They are part of his creation, and he created them for his own good and for his own purpose. And God loves YOU, more than we can ever imagine or realize!

Oh, by the way, today at noon, my friend and I were heading to the Pizza Hut for lunch, and she said, “Oh, look at that dog! I saw that dog yesterday at Wal-Mart! Look, it’s lost! It even has a collar on it . . . “ And I said, “Oh, Lord, not another one!”

Father, how we praise you that you care so lovingly for all the creatures you've created, especially those of us you call sons and daughters! Instill in each of us the full knowledge and confidence that you care so deeply about the intricate details of our lives. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application: Do you ever get to feeling down and out and wondering if God really cares? Pray the promises of this week’s Power Verses! HE REALLY DOES CARE!

Power Verses:
1 Peter 5:7: “I cast all of my anxiety on you, Lord, because I know you care for me.”

Psalm 55:22: “I cast my cares on you, Lord. You said that you will sustain me and never let the righteous fall.”

Nahum 1:7: “You are so good, Lord. You are a refuge in times of trouble. You care for those who trust in You.”

Romans 8:38-39: “Thank you, God, that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate me from Your love, which is in Christ Jesus, the Lord.”