God Cares for You

                                                                                                                                                            

   Grizzly bears and black bears are among the most well-known representatives of Canadian wildlife. With a little luck – and provided you are at a safe distance – you might encounter them in their native habitat. A safe distance becomes critical when the mother bear is on the move with her cubs. During this time, she perceives any intruder in her environment as a potential threat and defends her young extremely aggressively.

   This behavior is attributed to a particularly long-term care provided by the mother bear, which begins with the birth of the offspring, and lasts until the young are able to care for themselves. The female attends exclusively to the rearing of the offspring. After about four months, the cubs leave their den for the first time, and then learn from their mother everything they need for their survival in the wild. Together they go in search of food, learn to hunt, learn to recognize dangers, and are taught how to defend themselves should danger arise. Scientists have found that the mother goes so far as to shun attractive feeding grounds in order to protect her offspring from the aggressive males they would encounter there. The little bears experience a mostly carefree and protected childhood, which comes to an abrupt end after about two years. It is namely then that the mother drives away her own offspring with powerful paw swipes, threats, and aggressive behavior. The interesting thing is that this behavior also serves to protect the young, as at this time the mother bear is ready to mate again, and the cubs are at risk of being killed by the consenting male.

   Although this example from nature is remarkable, we know that God's care for us far surpasses this. God went to the extreme. For us to be freed from the burden of our sins, God sent Jesus to the earth, leaving Him, His beloved, nailed to the cross. Incomprehensible. God’s care for us climaxes here. But it goes further. Through the Bible, His word, He makes sure that we have all we need in our lives. He shows us how to “find sustenance,” recognize danger, how to apply the spiritual armor of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 6, and much, much more. And sometimes we experience that God somehow retreats, our prayers are not answered, or circumstances bring us to our limits and we wonder: What's going on? Why is God so distant? It pains us and we feel hurt. Could it not be that God, through our experience during this time, bestows on us a special blessing? Read Romans 8:28–39 once with this in mind and be assured that God cares for you.

Niko Ernst, 

Herford (DE)

Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/people/57557144@N06