Do you ever feel frightened when you are alone after dark? When I was a little girl, I used to think that a monster lived in my bedroom closet and that if I left the closet door open, it would come out and get me after the lights were out. This was only my imagination, but just the same I was very afraid of that “monster.”
One day I told my secret fear to my Uncle Bill who was visiting us and whom I loved very much. My dear uncle painted me a very comforting Bible verse in blue and gold letters. It said, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for [You], Lord, only [make] me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:88I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)).
Uncle Bill helped me read the words, and I liked the verse very much. Along with the verse, which was painted on a piece of paper, he gave me money to buy a frame so I could hang it on my bedroom wall. Then he left to go back home on the train.
When I was seven, I didn’t very often have dollars given to me. When I saw that money, I immediately thought how wonderful it would be to have a new doll, instead of the frame. I knew that money would be enough to buy a nice cuddly doll with eyes that opened and closed. The more I thought about the doll, the less I wanted a frame for the Bible verse, and the more I wanted the doll. I was very naughty and told my mother I thought it was mean to make me buy a frame when I wanted the doll so much more.
But my mother didn’t agree with me. She insisted that I buy the frame.
I cried and fussed and pouted, but it didn’t make any difference. The verse was framed and hung above my bed. But now, instead of the verse being a comfort to me when I was afraid, it only made me angry.
Do you know why? Because I was a naughty and covetous little girl. Do you know what covetous means? It means greedily wanting something you don’t have. One of the ten commandments God gave to Moses was, “[You shall] not covet” (Exodus 20:1717Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. (Exodus 20:17)). Being covetous is a sin.
All of us have displeased God with our sins, but He still loves us. He proved how much He loves us as sinners when He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on Calvary’s cross for us. There the Lord Jesus took the punishment for the sins of every one who will accept Him as their very own Savior. “Christ also [has] once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)).
Guess what? That verse on my wall has meant more to me all through my life than many dolls ever could have. It has helped me, even as an adult, go quietly to sleep quite a few times when otherwise I might not have been able to. Remember what it says: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for [You], Lord, only [make] me to dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:88I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)).
Messages of God’s Love 10/17/2021