I vowed to be as transparent as I can be in each and every blog. I don’t want to pretend to be something that I’m not. And I do not intend to break that vow anytime soon.
So, I have been worrying a lot lately. I don’t show it much, because I am trying my best to externalize my faith hoping that it will eventually become my natural way of being. But, it’s not. (Not yet, at least.) My faith in God and in what He is able to do is unshakable. However, my faith has never been tested like it’s being tested now. I am fully relying on God to provide for this (the money for the camping gear, vaccinations, and the overall cost of the trip). It’s scary, because I am the type of person that likes to feel secure. I like to feel like I have a handle on things. I like making my own to-do lists and being able to check them off when I complete them. This is why something like “drop everything and leave” is so “out there” for someone like me.
In Matthew 6:25-27 Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read this verse. What I can tell you though, is that every time I’ve read the example about the birds, I’ve always read it and thought, “that’s so beautiful that God cares for even the birds”. I love animals, so that part always warms my heart. Never have I ever been bitter towards the poor birds! Not until this week…when I read it and was like, “Well yeah, birds have it made! They wake up, find their food, and then they get to sing all day long. Literally living my dream.”
I read the verse again and again. I knew God was trying to tell me something. Until I felt like my eyes highlight a part of the verse. “Look at the birds of the air”.
I can be a very literal person, so I went and looked out my window to look at the birds of the air. As I drove, I looked at the birds. Whenever I had some time outside, I made sure to look at the birds. I needed to learn more about them, so I researched about how they live (you’ll forgive the “nerd alert”) and what I found out about them rocked me! (and it may only rock me, because I geek out over things like this, but that’s OK with me.)
I really wonder where the saying “bird brain” came from. When someone uses it, they’re essentially calling the person stupid. But what does the bird’s brain have to do with it? Why the bird? What did the bird do to deserve such a bad rep?! Maybe it’s because the brain of a bird is literally and physically small? That has to be it…because I know that birds are not stupid. They are, in fact, very intelligent and fascinating creatures. They need to be very in tune with who they are and what they are able to do.
There are birds that are perfectly made to get their food, birds such as the Owl. They are typically known for their infamous hoots and penetratingly large eyes, so you wouldn’t even bother to think about the power that their little ears hold. Though their ears are small, they have amazing hearing. They have disc-like feathers covering each ear that act like “ear trumpets”. Each shields the ear on one side from sound coming from the other. This allows for the owl to literally have its own surround sound system in its head. Their hearing is so keen that they are able to hear the faint sounds of movement of animals underneath layers of snow making them able to hunt and survive during weeks on weeks of the dark winter season. [Life of Birds. BBC.]
However, the innate abilities of some birds make acquiring foods a bit more difficult. Take the Bearded Vulture, for example. These are the kind of vultures that eat the bones of dead remains (yum, right?). But what they really enjoy is the bone marrow. Now, their beaks are not strong enough to break the bones down to the marrow, so they have had to learn through trial and error how to get the bone marrow. They discovered that if they grasp the bones with their talons, fly up into the sky and drop the bones onto the rocks below, they will break the bones perfectly enough to obtain their goal. Bearded Vultures are able to lift bones anywhere from 8 pounds to bones to their equal weight amount. Since they have to break the bones in a certain way on order to get the marrow, the process may take up to 20 or 30 tries. But they do it because they need the food. I would quit on try 14. They won’t quit because they know what they have to do in order to get what they need. It would be way easier if their beaks would be strong enough, but they made a way to adapt and to reach their goal.
Birds have everything they need in order to obtain their food; the food that God provides for them. If birds were to feel, think, and communicate (which I personally totally think they do) I don’t think that the birds would question God. I don’t think that they would ask God why He doesn’t provide. I believe that it’s because the birds know that He already has! And so do I. By faith, I know that God has already provided!
I think the difference between the birds and me is this: I worry because I look at myself and don’t understand how God’s Will will come to pass. Meanwhile, the birds don’t worry because they look at themselves and see God’s Will fulfilled. God’s Will was to provide so He made them to allow for His Will to be manifested! They are fully equipped for this! Their beaks, their talons, their senses, everything about them! Am I not more “valuable” than they? I need to start looking at myself like that. I am fully equipped to do the work of the Lord. I will work as the birds do.
Persistent.
Determined.
Focused.
Believing that God gave me all the tools I need to do His work. I know the only thing stopping me from making this work is me! I refuse to sit back “see what happens”. God has given us so many talents, ideas, resources…what’s the point of having all these great and useful things if we don’t do anything with them for the growth of His Kingdom and, above all, for His glory?! I know what God has placed in my hands. This is one of, if not the, biggest task the Lord has placed in my hands. I cannot afford to let fear and worry paralyze me! Not now, not ever.
Grace & Peace
