Wild Bear or Dried Up Worm--How God Treats the Weak

Last week, Jonathan was at a job site near a stream in town with Sam and Samuel when Sam saw a bear! In fact, it was three bears!

Jonathan took several pictures, and this was the best one, but it only shows two of the bears.

That was pretty exciting. The guys definitely kept their distance from this mama bear sitting in the pool with her yearling cubs nearby.

But our kids get almost as excited about small, helpless creatures as they do over big wild bears. 

Like toads, for example.

You wouldn't believe where Rose found this one!

Inside one of her plant pots!

She had left her window open one day and apparently a friendly (or was it scared?)

toad from the window well found itself a home in her plant pot!

I just had to get a picture of this funny guest!

And then there are worms. The kids LOVE to find worms as we dig up our raised beds to plant seeds. 

But this day last week, they come into the kitchen bringing a poor, dried-up-but-still-alive worm that they hoped to revive by running some water over it in the kitchen sink.

Yeah, my children do things like that because they have tender hearts toward small, helpless creatures like dried up worms.

Here Rose is "planting" the worm back into the raised bed they had just dug up and planted.

And I immediately thought of that verse in Isaiah, "Fear not, thou worm, Jacob."

Somehow, my children's tender hearts towards a poor, helpless creature reminded me of God's heart toward His people.

"'Fear not, you worm Jacob...I will help you,' says the Lord and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
Earlier in the chapter God had been promising to make Israel's enemies ashamed.
"Those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.
Fear not, you worm!"