"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. (Job 12:7, 9, 10 ESV)
Today as I was walking outside, I saw a little lizard no longer than my pinky finger scamper across the sidewalk. If you know anything about me, I love nature and the little details and intricacies of His creation. So naturally, I wanted to pick it up! At first I considered the traditional way of catching a lizard: chasing after it like a madman closing my hands over it to capture it. This method sometime results in the lizard biting you or bolting from your hands at any sign of an opening. So instead, I got down on my knees behind it and laid my hands down in front of it. It stood still for a moment, then slowly crawled into my open hands. It surprised me when instead of running right through my hands like I thought it would, it stayed in my hands. Eventually, it's breathing slowed down, and it tilted it's head and closed it's eyes. As this tiny body laid in my hands and relaxed, I began to look at the little details of this creature. It's rough skin and perfect little feet, it's tiny eyelids and long tail. I thought to myself, God put so much detail into something so small, how could I ever say He doesn't care for me or know the details of my life? Then I learned these lessons:
1. The reason the lizard stayed in my hands is because my hands were open and I didn't move from where I was sitting. The moment I started to close my hands or move, he would have bolted away. He was never mine to hold onto, He belonged to God. Sometimes we try to hold onto things we are given so tightly that we lose them. We must trust God with them. We also tend to get anxious an want to move from where God has us, also causing us to lose what we are given. We must stay planted and hold people and situations with open hands, releasing control and trusting God and we must stay planted where God has put us, trusting that HE will give us what we need.
2. Another reason the lizard stayed in my hands was because my hands were warm. My hands were warm because I am alive. He could feel my warmth and pulse even though I was not moving because I am alive and breathing. We have to be alive and thriving where we are planted. Things stay and grow where there is life.
The lizard stayed in my hands for 20 minutes. I'm convinced that he would have stayed even longer if I didn't move because I had to go to lunch! That's just the beauty of our God, He will teach and show us what we need in the places where we least expect it, even from a lizard.
"They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God." (Psalm 92:13 ESV)
