My daughter, Kailey, just got a golden retriever puppy named Tilly. Tilly is a sweet, soft, fluffy ball of furr and energy. Kailey got Tilly in Calhoun, Ga, and earlier this week I drove Kailey and Tilly back down to Orlando where Kailey lives. Tilly came from a big litter, so she was used to being surrounded when she slept at night. At Kailey’s house, Tilly is sleeping in a crate, so her first couple of nights were predictably rough – but she did better than I expected.

When Kailey first put her in the crate, she started to whine, bark, cry and fuss (and, man that dog can get loud!). But after just a few minutes of Kailey reassuring Tilly that she was there in the same room, and Tilly could smell and hear her, she would calm down and go to sleep.

As I thought about my little grand-dog, I thought how much her going to bed in the crate is like our lives with Christ. I know it sounds like a stretch, but hear me out…

In our lives we are filled with thoughts, worries, concerns, anxiety – all the things that take our focus off of God. And, much like Tilly in that crate, we can feel so overwhelmed and alone thinking we have to face this big, scary world all alone. But as we do as His word tells us in Psalm 46:10, “Be Still, and know that I am God” we realize we’re NOT alone. As we start to be still, we can start to sense the presence of God all around us and hear his still, quiet voice whispering to us reassuring us that He is here – always has been, always will be. When we let that truth sink in and fix our eyes on Him, all those worries and concerns will fade away and we can truly rest knowing that we are never alone