Issue 1441 – The Birds – May 7, 2024
Our yard is aflutter with birds. The property is fenced, keeping out most predators. The seed feeders and hummingbird feeders (in season) keep a variety of birds busy. The trees and brush provide plenty of nesting sites.
We see chickadees; dark-eyed juncos; white and red-breasted nuthatches, American robins; sapsuckers; mourning doves; starlings, grackles, blackbirds, white crested sparrows; varied thrushes; towhees, common redpolls; and many more species regularly. There are also many LBJ’s (little brown jobs, small birds that I don’t get a close enough look at to identify). We can watch hawks and bald eagles soar overhead. A few times, I have seen a merlin flying through the yard.
Geese and ducks often fly noisily overhead. In season, flocks of trumpeter swans fly overhead, trumpeting away as they travel. A wide range of songbirds serenades us at dawn and dusk.
We often sit in the yard and watch and listen. Many birds are so accustomed to us that they will come within a couple of feet of us. We are only seen as a threat if we suddenly move in their direction.
A passage of Scripture often comes to mind as I watch them.
“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? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34
Appropriate words for the times we are in. If you listen to the media, the world is in a mess. We see wars and hear rumours of wars. Various plagues and diseases abound. There is financial turmoil and violent crime. Families are disintegrating, and many people have no hope.
Yet the birds go about their daily lives, unaware of what makes us fearful. God looks after them and will watch over us as well. Things might be difficult for a season, but He has not abandoned us, nor will He.
The LORD is our source, our strength, our comfort, and He is our peace. We can rest in Him whether things get better or worse. No matter what the world throws at us, we can withstand it joyfully in Him.
When it gets too much, take a minute to watch and listen to the birds and look to the Saviour. If you live where birds are scarce, go online and watch some videos of them.
Until next time, consider the birds and trust in Jesus,
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)