BY JACK WARD

Psalm 7:1: “O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.”

Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

A man and his wife had a pet finch named Coffee. Coffee runs into a serious problem once in a while. Her claws grow so long that she loses the ability to control them. They get stuck in the nest and she cannot get them out. Once they found her nearly dead, hanging for hours upside down with one claw ensnared in her wicker home. The man’s wife rescued her and nursed her back to health. They decided they needed to regularly clip her claws so she could maintain control of them.

When the man would reach into the door and try to catch her, she would desperately scramble to the eight corners of the cage to escape capture. Once he grips her gently in his palm, her heart races in a panic and she attempts to peck at his hand to free herself. But he holds her steady, clipping her nails, and then releases her back into the safety of her cage, where she gleefully flies for months without getting ensnared. But when the nails grow again, they have to repeat the procedure, each time with her panic, pecking and distrust.

It is sad when she distrusts her loving owner. Charlie, Coffee’s nest mate, seems to enjoy being held and stroked, simply receiving the care for what it is as they clip his nails.

I am afraid most of us are more like Coffee when God gets us in his grip. Most of us fret and resist and at times turn hostile toward him as he holds us tight and gives us a trim. I wish we were all more like Charlie. Actually, I am going to try to be.

Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons every Sunday morning at 10:30 on 98.9 WSIP FM. Check out the Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church Facebook page and our website at tomahawkmbc.com.