CAREFUL WATCH

careful (adj): showing close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble; vigilant, loving

 watch (noun): the act of keeping awake to guard, protect, or attend 

“God is keeping careful watch over us and the future…” 1 Peter 1:5

This week has made my anxious mom-heart skip more than a few beats. Our twenty-year-old son has been having a blast, going on adventures that I should probably only hear about afterwards. Flying a small plane with his buddies, road-tripping across the border, and climbing Mount St. Helens are a few of the “highlights”.

I just keep saying, “Be careful…”

And I pray.

I ask God to watch over him, to bring him home safely. Because even though I desperately want to, I can’t protect him from all the dangers that threaten his precious life. I know that bad things can happen. People get hurt and sick and lost, and I can’t help but worry about the ones I love.

And it doesn’t feel good to realize that I am not in control of any of it.

But God is.

And we can rest and trust as we place our people and ourselves in his strong and gentle hands. Not once does he look away.

He watches us faithfully, vigilantly. He never sleeps.

He watches us lovingly, tenderly, patiently, compassionately.

He comes closer when we are worried and hurting.

He knows every single thing that we need.

He watches us protectively, guarding us from evil, surrounding us with his spiritual army…even when do not see it.

“He keeps careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all–life healed and whole.”

So we know–for sure– that even in the worry, the pain, the things that we can’t control, God is paying careful attention. He is keeping us. He has a higher plan, a better future than we can even imagine.

A life healed and whole is coming.

Meanwhile, we will experience trouble, hard things, scary times, and heartbreaking loss in this life. I know that even though I pray for protection for my family, tragedy can happen.

And it is okay to admit that we are all afraid of that.

But what we can hold onto is that this life is not all there is. The Day is coming. Jesus will redeem everything that we have gone through and make us healed and whole. And we will all be filled with unending, indescribable joy and peace as we move in to our place in Heaven with him. Together. With all the people we love– the ones we have lost, the ones we keep praying for, and the ones we hold so tightly to today.

God is watching us all. Very carefully.

Invite Him in: Take a deep breath of Jesus’ presence. He is all around you, and he has everyone you care about in his mighty, gentle, caring hands. He has power beyond your understanding, he knows every single detail of everything that is going on, and he will never take his loving eyes off of you.