Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...James 4:8
I have been observing my cat Fe' for a few years now. Fe' is the Spanish word for faith.
This pretty black cat came to me as part of an entire family six years ago. In time, her mom and three litter mates disappeared.....
Now it is just me and Fe'.
I know Fe' is aware that I am the one who takes care of her. She has never lacked for anything since arriving at my doorstep.....I love Fe'.
Many times each day Fe' comes over and wants me to pet her. There are times when Fe' lets me pick her up, but it seems that just as often, when I bend toward her she moves away from my reach. Fe' comes close for affection, then retreats. As this happens over and over, I get a little frustrated by her actions because I am not able to love on her the way I would like to.
There is no consistency of complete trust in the one who takes care of her.
I realize these actions stem from Fe's early beginning on Planet Earth. I'm sure she questioned why her entire family deserted her. I'm sure she thought they didn't love her. I'm sure she was lonely for them. I'm sure she questioned why the world was so mean, so.....
Now Fe' has a difficult time totally relaxing in who I am for her. Maybe she thinks she shouldn't get too close because I might let her down also.
It seems to me that Fe' would always want to be right in the middle of my lap---the person who welcomed her with love.
Makes me think that Jesus probably feels that way with some of us. It looks like any person who has been rescued by Him should have complete trust in His love.
There should never be a pulling away from Him. Instead, we should always be running toward Jesus, wanting to sit in the lap of the One who rescued us.
Just as I am not able to reach out and touch Fe' when she backs away from me, Jesus is not able to bless us as much as He would like when we pull away from Him.
Many things can pull us away from Jesus.....
What goes on in your thoughts?
What are you giving attention to?
Are you concerned with.....Past earthly issues? Present earthly issues? Future earthly issues?
Earthly things will surely dominate your attention, and weaken your faith.....if you allow them to.
You are supposed to cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you...1 Peter 5:7.
Run to your Savior with all your worries. Don't let earthly concerns pull you away from intimacy with Him.
Jesus can only pick you up and hold you close when you run to Him and allow Him to do what He does best as your personal Lord God.
Remember..........
Jesus loves you so much that He actually died---just for you!