Saturday, December 6, 2008

10 Things God Spoke to Me Through My Pet Bunny, Sammy


1. God’s love is unconditional – no matter how I act, look or feel God loves me just the same. Nothing I do can take away or lessen His love for me. Even if Sammy would misbehave or bite me, I’d still love him just the same. I might not love some of the things he would do, but I always continued to love him. God may be displeased with some of the things I do, but he’s never displeased with me.

2. God disciplines me to keep me from harm - when God tells me not to do something I’ve learned that it’s usually for my own good. I might participate in an activity, eat something, or say something that seems perfectly harmless, but will eventually hurt me. Sammy used to like to chew on electrical cords. It was a perfectly natural instinct for him to do it and he didn’t know it would kill him. I’d have to put him in his cage until he’d forget about the electrical cords. The cage wasn’t to punish him, but protect him. So when God tells me no, it’s usually for my protection, because He sees the harm in my action when I don’t.

3. God is faithful - God is responsible for keeping me safe and providing for me. Just like it was my responsibility to provide food, shelter, love and look after Sammy’s health, God is faithful to do the same for me. He doesn’t forget about me or leave me without taking care of my needs.

4. God calms my fears – God is the one who can make me feel safe. Occasionally one of my roommates would let a dog in the house and it would terrify Sammy. Sammy would run to me for protection. Likewise, I need to run to God when I’m feeling afraid, whether the fear is physical, relational, financial or emotional.


5. God wants to spend time with me – it blows my mind to think that the Creator of the Universe actually desires to spend time with me more than I do with Him. I often wondered what Sammy was doing all day while I was at work. I looked forward to coming home and seeing him. The same way I thought about Sammy, God thinks about me. Only God thinks about me all the time. In fact his thoughts towards me are too numerous to count, like the grains of sand in the sea.

6. God is gentle – I loved sit quietly on the floor with Sammy in my lap and quietly stroke his fur. God likes to spend quiet time with me. He loves it when I sit in His presence and receive His gentle strokes. He never yells at me or tells me bad things about myself. In fact, He does the exact opposite. He encourages me, and believes in me more than I believe in myself.

7. God is patient - I’d often call Sammy and he would ignore me. When he was ready he’d eventually come to me. Likewise, God calls me to Him and sometimes I ignore Him. Thankfully God is patient and waits for me to come to Him. He never forces me to do anything. He gives me the freedom to choose.


8. God has a great sense of humor – when I’d leave town for the weekend and leave Sammy in the care of friends, Sammy would get upset. He always let me know that he was upset by pooping right in front of his cage rather than in his cage. Thankfully, once I was home, he’d use his cage properly. It was hilarious to me that he would do this every time I wasn’t home. There were several times I was complaining to God about something that He asked me to do that I didn’t want to do. Most of the time I’d do it, but with a bad attitude. I’d sulk and complain. God reminded me that my attitude was a lot like Sammy’s pooping when I didn’t get my way. God has a great way of showing us our true selves in a humorous way.

9. God does not condemn me – Sammy’s natural instinct was to run away when I caught him doing something that he wasn’t supposed to do (like chewing the walls). My natural instinct is to run away from God when I know I’ve done something wrong for fear of punishment. Thankfully, God doesn’t expect me to be perfect; in fact He knows I’ll mess up. Since He’s all knowing, He already knows all the mistakes I’ll ever make in my lifetime and He still does not condemn me because the blood of Jesus justifies me. I never held it against Sammy when he’d do something bad. I’d deal with his action and then forget about it as if it never happened. In the same way, God forgets about my mistakes when I ask for His forgiveness. He doesn’t bring up all the stuff I’ve ever done wrong and hold it over me. His mercies are fresh and new every day.

10. God is gracious – I’d love to give Sammy little treats, whether it was a little chew toy or a little piece of fruit. Sammy didn’t do anything to deserve or earn those treats. I just wanted to give them to him because I loved him. In the same way, God longs to bless me. Not because I deserve the blessings, but because of how wonderful God is. He delights in giving me good things.

2 comments:

Kimmie said...

Sweet insights ...what a darling little bunny. I had a dwarf rabbit for 12 years...your bunny makes me remember that sweet fur ball.

I enjoyed your 10 things.

Hope you are well!

Kimmie
mama to 6
one homemade and 5 adopted

Unknown said...

I miss Sammy!! Eventhough he would never let me pick him up and he would bite my fingers....I still loved that bunny. Remember when he almost chewed up my computer cord??? Is it amazing how God shows us his character through things or people in our lives??!! I am learning that from Ty!