Have you ever been a part of a cattle drive? Not only had I never been part of one before last week, but I thought I wouldn’t want to be; however, I was wrong. It was a blast.
First of all, I didn’t know female cows had horns (I’m a city girl), so that was a shock. All of the cows were female and then there were several baby calves. Our job was to locate them and then drive them to the corral. It was hilarious because they would moo in protest, yet go the direction we wanted them to go. It reminded me of getting my children ready to go somewhere and moving them out the door.
Once we got all of the cows to the corral, we were to rope the calves so they could be medicated against disease. Now the mama cows didn’t take kindly to their babies being roped, but they didn’t attempt to harm us. When their baby would get roped, they would moo loudly and stand close by in a protective way; however, they never attempted to intervene or secure the calf’s escape. It was as if they knew we weren’t harming their baby. We were doing something necessary and for the calf’s good, even though it was unpleasant. When we were finished treating the calf, the mama would take it to the far side of the corral away from us. Once all of the calves were treated, the cattle were driven back out to pasture and left in peace.
You know you can see God in anything when you can see Him in a cow and I did. I couldn’t help but think how God is the same way with us. He doesn’t like to see us go through things that cause us discomfort and pain, even when He knows it is for our good. He stands close by, as only a protective Father would, to ensure we only experience what is necessary and what is for our good [Romans 8:28]. He never leaves our side, because if anything crosses over to harm us instead of work for our good, He intervenes [Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 91:1]. Once we are released, He takes us to a restful place [Psalm 23:2].
Are you going through an unpleasant situation right now? If so, you can trust the Lord is with you. He is poised and ready to intervene whenever necessary. He has your best interest at heart always. When the season is over, He will take you to a quiet place to rest. He is a loving, protective Father and you can rest assured He is always watching over you.