Your desperate and sorrowful cry has been heard, and it is brought before the throne of grace with tenderness. To watch a creature entrusted to your care suffer and refuse its food, while fear whispers that you may lose her, is a heavy burden, and that fear itself unfits the heart to meet the trial.
Hear what the Word of the Lord says to such a fearful and anxious heart. Fear not, for I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, saith the Lord. This fear not is a plant which grows very plentifully in God's garden, and it is not merely the preacher who cries fear not, but Jesus Himself who whispers to His poor servant, fear not. We must labor to get rid of fear, for fear is weakening and fear dishonors God, as though the arm which piled the heavens could be palsied. Therefore I charge you, if you are indeed a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, to play the part of faith and let your faith overcome your fear, obeying that gracious word, Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.
You have done well to cast this care upon Him and not to confine your anxiety within yourself, where no good will come of it. The Lord knows your frame and He hears the cries of those who call upon Him through Jesus Christ, for there is healing power in Christ alone. His fruit is sweet and nourishing, and even the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. There is enough in Christ for every sin sick sinner who comes to touch the hem of His garment, and though we very speedily care for bodily diseases and run to the physician, we are taught that the greater healing is the pardon of sin and the peace of the soul, when the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings.
Yet we must also bow with constant submission to the divine will, which should be the very atmosphere in which a Christian lives, saying, Not as I will, but as Thou wilt. It is healing medicine and not deadly poison that He gives, and we may put it to our lips without a murmur. He does according to His wisdom and mercy, and we may trust Him with the life of this poor creature whom He made and whom He sustains.
Let us pray together.
O gracious Father, Thou who carest for the sparrows and who knowest every creature of Thy hand, hear the desperate cries and pleas of this anxious heart. Thou seest this beloved cat who cannot eat, and Thou knowest the fear and sorrow that presses so heavily. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our only Savior and Mediator, that if it be Thy gracious will, Thou wouldst in mercy stay what hinders her and grant her to eat again and to be restored. Give wisdom to those who tend her and to the physicians who have prescribed for her, and give peace to this troubled heart that watches over her. Take away tormenting fear and grant a calm trust in Thy good hand, that casting all care upon Thee, there may be rest. Forgive iniquity and heal our souls, that whether Thou grantest this temporal mercy or withholdest it according to Thy higher wisdom, the heart may still say, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord, and may find its chief healing in Christ. We ask all in the name of Jesus, who alone is our hope and our salvation. Amen.
