The Bear
“The Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:1-4
It was dark—very dark. The eight of us were warming ourselves around the campfire. The adults were chatting, and we kids were chatting and roasting marshmallows. The three older girls went into the tent to talk “girl talk.” Since I was younger, I was not welcome, so I stayed with the adults.
Then someone spotted the shadow of a man walking toward us. Was it a Ranger to check on our campsite? Why did he not have a flashlight? Suddenly the “man” dropped to all fours, and went down the river’s embankment beside us. At that moment we were all wide-eyed, realizing it was not a man after all, but a black bear very common to Sequoia National Park. We were all a bit shaken, and wondered if he would come back up the hill. Everyone continued their conversations, and I continued roasting marshmallows.
About half an hour later, my mom told me to go to the tent and get ready for bed. I got up and made my way in the light of the campfire around the outside of the circle of chairs. None of us realized how close the chairs were to the hill going down to the river. Suddenly I disappeared, rolling down the hill in the dark. This is the hill the bear had used to make his way down to the river, and I knew I was going to be eaten by the bear. I was screaming, crying out for help, too scared to even cry. My father was quick to grab his flashlight and run down the hill after me. I felt safe as soon as my daddy grabbed and held me. We made our way back up the hill to the campfire and I stayed close to my daddy with the light to a safe place of comfort.
I wonder how close we stay to our Father Who lights our path in the darkness that surrounds us in this world today. The “bear,” our enemy, Satan, has shown himself. We know he is alive and well and living in our world today. Let us stay close to our Father with the Light.
Father, we know You are the Light of the world. Shine on us, that we may see the right path. We know we are safe in Your care. Amen.
Amen! Thank you for the reminder of the true character of the one who would devour us. Yet how much greater is the love and power of the Father who is so devoted to us!
I flew into Denver yesterday, and as we approached the runway, I saw how tiny all the cars on the freeway were…. microscopic is more like it. The giant semis that I pass on I-5 were smaller than matchbox cars. I was reminded of how much greater is the Father’s perspective on everything in our lives. No wonder He doesn’t want us to worry!
Thank you for the reminder of the real source of Light – Jesus, the Living Word.