You may have heard the story about the father who walked in on his little boy as he said his bedtime prayers.

“Dear God,” the little fellow prayed. “Please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me.

“Oh, and please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we’re gonna be in a big mess!”

I’m not sure of the theological correctness of that prayer, but I do understand the concept.

All that we have, all that we are and all that we will ever be depends on God.

If anything ever happened to God, we would be in a big mess.

The truth is, though, that nothing happens to God. In fact, he “happens” to everything else.

No matter what the evening news may tell us, or how often the skeptics scoff at the mention of his name, he is still in charge.

He has not descended from his throne in the heavens, and he has not left his place in the center of our hearts.

He’s still in control, and we’re not in a big mess, even if sometimes it may seem that way.

The reason for that assurance is that God is faithful to us, and faithful to the promises he has made us.

Times may change, and people may disappoint us, but God doesn’t, and won’t.

He is always there, always dependable, always keeping us out of the big messes we deserve.

One of my favorite scriptures speaks of that very idea.

2 Timothy 2:13 says, even “if we are faithfless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.”  That is, by his very nature, he cannot not be faithful.  Even if we are.

So there’s one thing you can count on as you say your bed-time prayers tonight, and that is that God will take care of himself, and he’ll take care of you as well.