Don't Be A Beej

Our neighbor had knee-replacement surgery this week. Dick and I took care of her cat, Beej, while she was in the hospital. When we unlocked the door, Beej was right there waiting for us. She rubbed her face on our outstretched hands, then led the way to her bowl and demanded we fill it immediately. The whole time we were getting her food and fresh water ready, she was winding herself around our legs and meowing a tale of near starvation.

As soon as we put the bowl down, Beej gobbled up the food and ignored us. Her needs were met, and we were no longer important. If we stopped by at other times during the day, she greeted us for a bit but, when we didn’t offer her more food, she soon wandered off on a mission of her own.

Her behavior kind of reminded me of how many of us treat God. We are all attentive to Him when we need or want something. We pray lots, we make promises to be better individuals, we look to His word for comfort and encouragement. Then, after He gets us through our current “crisis”, we slack off and get distracted till the next time we are in dire straits.

That’s not the relationship God wants to have with us. Scripture after scripture encourages us to “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."

In John 15:4 Jesus shares a great truth: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

God never abandons us. If we feel distant from Him, it’s not God who has moved; It’s us who have gotten distracted and wandered away. Micah 6:8 shares three things God requires of us: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with Him.

Our relationship with God shouldn’t be like we had with Beej this week—only getting near till we have our needs met. God wants a close, living, and abiding fellowship with us. He has reached out to each of us. Will you walk with Him?

Be encouraged!

©2025 Pamela D. Williams

For Your Pleasure

I love walking outside in the early morning. There is little traffic, few people, lots of birds chirping, and a variety of little creatures out foresting for their breakfast. It’s a time when I can connect with the Lord with fewer distractions than the rest of the day.

As I walked this morning, God repeatedly showed me things that affirmed His existence and His love. The beautiful sky at sunrise, the intricacies of an empty locust shell (not to mention the wonder of an insect that only burrows to the surface of the earth every 7 years!), the refreshing breeze cooling my face, the perfectly formed raindrops on a blade of grass, the softness of the fur on a friendly neighbor’s cat, the myriad colors of the flowers blooming—none of these things could have just occurred by themselves or from a “big bang". Each one needed an intelligent, creative, thoughtful, caring Being.

Revelation 4:11 says God created all things for His pleasure, including us. But when I look around, I see so much that God created for OUR pleasure! God didn’t need any of those things He brought to my attention this morning, and in truth, neither do we. But He gave them to us simply because He knew we would be awed, comforted, assured by them. He created them for our pleasure—just because He loves us!

Out of that love, God has given us not just the pleasurable but the practical. I thought about the awesomeness of the sun, placed the perfect distance from our planet to warm us but not consume us, the wonder of wind we can’t see but that powers the turbines that convert it into electricity, about the necessity of rain to replenish water sources, clean the air, and nurture plants, drop by drop.

Yes, selfish, faulted, sinful people that we are, God loves us—so much so that, not only did He create this awesome and sustaining planet for us, He sacrificed His own, beloved son, Jesus, to die on the cross to forgive us of our sins! (John 3:16).

Our amazing world shouts glory and praise to our Heavenly Father, testifying of His unfathomable love and power! (Psalm 19:1) Let us join our voices in thanking Him—especially for the gift of forgiveness through His son, Jesus, our Savior!

Be encouraged!

©2025 Pamela D. Williams