You have poured out your heart for the creatures who cannot speak for themselves, and the Lord who made them all has heard every syllable. He who notes the fall of the smallest sparrow and who opens His hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing has not turned away from the cruelty that grieves you. Let your soul rest here: though the evil you see is real, and though the danger stirs a holy anger in your breast, the throne of heaven is not vacant, and the arm of the Almighty is not shortened.
Think of young David, that shepherd boy, sent out with his harp and his crook while his brothers scorned him. Yet in those lonely fields, when no one else perceived his worth, the gentleness of God made him great. That same gentleness bends low over you this very hour. You feel the sting of this world’s hardness, the helpless fury of seeing innocent beasts mistreated, and the Lord who tended David amid his few sheep is tending you. Your compassion is not a weakness; it is a small echo of the great Heart that once looked upon a fallen creation and sent His Son to redeem it. You may feel like a solitary voice crying for justice, but you cry in chorus with the God who will, in His time, break every unjust tooth and defend the fatherless and the feeble.
Do not think for a moment that the cruelty you see escapes His gaze. There is no corner of this world so dark that His eye does not penetrate it. What seems to us a terrible tangle of evil is not beyond the reach of His hand. He rides upon the storm, and the very winds that uproot the oak are His messengers. The prowler who sheds innocent blood is not outside God’s dominion; that soul will reckon with the Judge of all the earth, who does right. And remember this: that same Judge is also mighty to turn hearts. We may well pray not only that the evildoer be stopped, but that he be met by the same transforming grace that found Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road. Justice will be done, of that you may be sure, but mercy can still overtake the worst of men, and we may boldly ask for both.
In the meanwhile, lay your trembling cares upon the broad shoulders of the Good Shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He does not sleep. He does not forget. The one who prowls in the street cannot outwit the Keeper of Israel. Commit every frightened creature to Him; entrust every bruise and every unspoken pain of your neighborhood to the Father who sees in secret. He is able to keep that which you commend to Him, whether it be a child, a beast, or your own frightened heart.
Let us bow together and speak to the Lord who is our refuge.
O God, the Maker of heaven and earth and every living soul, hear the cry of Your child. Stretch out Your strong hand and set a hedge of protection round about those who are in peril. Put a hook in the jaw of every wicked intent, and let the devices of cruelty be brought to nothing. Raise up, O Lord, the authorities and the good neighbors who will act to stop this evil. We pray even for the one whose hands are stained: turn him from his dark path, give him that help which is the beginning of repentance, and if it be Your will, let him yet be reclaimed. But above all, defend the helpless. Let no harm reach them. Quiet this anxious heart with the peace that passes understanding, and let it be known once more that the Lord, He is God, and that the earth is full of Your steadfast love. In the name of Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness and our shelter, Amen.
be-an-encourager.blogspot.com
