I enjoy having a few goats on the farm. They are entertaining. It is fun watching the young ones run, jump and twist in the air or climb on the backs of the adults. Even the adults continue to have a bit of childishness in them. They all seem to have a curious, mischievous, devil-may-care attitude. It is a characteristic that gets them into trouble often and has them calling for help.
My daughter and I just rescued two goats the other day. A pregnant nanny had somehow jumped into the feeder. All four legs were through the grating below and her fat belly was wedged between the front of the feeder and the wall. And then, our young billy decided to climb (which they love to do) and explore the upper reaches of the barn. He had a great time in the loft until he wanted to come down, but could not seem to figure out how he got up there.
I have had to rescue goats from fences, numerous times. They figure out how to turn their heads sideways to slip through a small opening in order to grab a bite of greener grass, but cannot reverse the process. Horns slide through a lot easier going out than coming back in. And so they stand there, and call for help.
But then, we are not much different than they are, are we? Far too often we get ourselves in a fix with seemingly no way out. Our reckless, thoughtless, sin-seeking side decides that some activity would be fun, or interesting, or entertaining. After all, what’s the harm? But then there we are with our head stuck in the fence. What do we do? We can call for help. And fortunately our Father is there to help us out, to forgive us, and set us straight – until next time.
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NLT).
Why is it that so many people only call upon God when they are in trouble? Is that the only time we think we need Him? Yes, we give thanks, when we get out of our predicament and/or are forgiven, but what about every day? There are so many reasons for talking to God! Thanking Him at the end of the day for not getting caught in the fence is just one of them. The song writer was certainly right to encourage us to ‘count our many blessings…to see what God has done’. We need to give Him the thanks, praise, and the honour that He so richly deserves.
“Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.” Isaiah 12:5a (NLT).
“Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise Him, all you people of the earth. For He loves us with unfailing love; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 117 (NLT).
Fenwick ON