Kristen and Johnny had two gerbils named Arnold and Bucky. They were both active little animals, as most gerbils are, but Bucky was especially adventuresome. He was always exploring everywhere he could when he was allowed out of his cage.
Kristen and Johnny went to visit their grandmother for a week. Their parents stayed at home while they were away. Early in the week Daddy noticed that Bucky was not in the cage. The lid had not been closed tightly and was slightly ajar. If you’ve ever had a gerbil for a pet, you know a gerbil doesn’t need much room to squeeze through. Bucky had gotten out!
Every night after Daddy came home from work, he went “gerbil hunting.” The cage had been kept in the basement, so that is where Daddy searched. Although he spent many hours trying to catch Bucky, there were too many hiding places. He saw Bucky several times, but could never catch him.
When the children came home a few days later, Bucky was still loose in the basement. Kristen thought that since Bucky was her pet she could easily catch him, but she found that she couldn’t. Johnny tried everything he could think of, too. They even put food out by the cage and then waited quietly for Bucky to come and get it. However, when Bucky did come and the children tried to catch him, he would scoot away out of their grasp.
One day Kristen prayed, asking the Lord Jesus to help them catch Bucky. Now, you may think that catching a gerbil is not very important to the Lord Jesus and that we should not bother Him about such little things. But in the Bible the Lord says, “Ye have not, because ye ask not.” James 4:22Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. (James 4:2). There is no problem too small to bring to the Lord Jesus. He never gets upset about our asking for anything that He would like us to have. “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.” 1 John 5:1414And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: (1 John 5:14). Also, James 1:55If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5) tells us, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally [generously], and upbraideth [scolds] not; and it shall be given him.”
Later that same day as Kristen looked for Bucky, the quick-moving little gerbil ran behind an old bookcase that was being stored in the basement. Scooting behind the bookcase was easy, but Bucky soon discovered that there was no other way out. The bookcase sat in the corner of the basement. Bucky could run behind the bookcase until he reached the corner. But then he could not go around the corner, because the bookcase was pushed tightly against the wall. He could not go under it, either. The only way out was the same way he had gotten in. By then Kristen was guarding that end to keep Bucky from getting out. He was trapped!
Kristen called for Daddy to bring the cage quickly. Carefully, they worked together to get Bucky back into the cage.
The Lord had answered Kristen’s prayer, and so easily, too. I’m sure the family must have thought, “If we had prayed about it sooner, we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.” How often we all forget to pray, or we think that something is not important enough to bring to the Lord. Let’s remember that the Lord does hear and will answer our prayers. Sometimes the answer will not be what we were hoping it would be, but it still is an answer. Let’s always thank the Lord for answering our prayers.
It was not long until Bucky settled down to his normal caged life. But about two days later Kristen noticed that Bucky seemed sick. He only got worse over the next two days. On the fourth day after being caught, Bucky died.
Kristen and Johnny’s parents wondered if he had eaten some poison or something else that was not good for him, while he was out of the cage. Bucky might have thought he was having a good time while he was loose. It seems, though, that his good time was harmful to him and even caused his death.
Some boys and girls are so busy having good times that they don’t bother to think about God. Sometimes even children who love the Lord Jesus Christ and know Him as their Saviour want to “run away"—do things that are not pleasing to Him. But each of us must remember that “the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23). Your “good times” will only last a short time, but your soul lives forever. If you are not trusting in the Lord Jesus and are “running away” from Him, why not allow yourself to be “caught.” He wants to “catch” you in His love. He loves you so much that He has already taken the punishment for all your sins if you will only believe Him. He shed His precious blood on Calvary’s cross for any who accept Him as their Saviour. Tell Him that you believe that He died for you. He has promised to save you. “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37). Then you will want to thank Him for saving you, and tell others about Him. Don’t be unwise and run away from the Lord Jesus like Bucky ran away from Kristen’s family. He loves you. Accept Him as your Saviour today.
ML-05/08/1983