Five Simple Lessons From Our Feathered Friends

Our birdfeeders are strategically placed so we can view the many different species that come daily to visit. Living in New England brings different birds throughout the year as some migrate north for the warmer months and then fly south again. How do they know what to do and where to go? If we take a short walk around our neighborhood we might see ducks, turkeys or a Great Blue Heron flying overhead. My family enjoys going to zoos and museums to learn about different kinds of birds. Do you? Here is a fun fact; King Solomon was the first to import peacocks into Israel from Tarshish (probably todays Spain). What can we learn from watching the birds around us and reading the Bible?

GOD IS CREATIVE

Lesson one is that Our Creator God is imaginative and creative. Just look at the variety of birds on earth from hummingbirds to the ostrich. He loves beauty, shape and color and has a purpose for each creature of His. He created birds for food, insect control and enjoyment.

Genesis 1:20–21  And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

 

 

GOD IS OMNICIENT

Lesson two, God knows every detail about our lives even the number of hairs on our head. Like the birds we are similar yet unique. We were created in His image and it was good. So many people have questions concerning their identity and worth but He created us for a purpose. We are so valuable to Him that He made the way for us to have a close relationship with Him by sending Jesus.

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 139:7–10   (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language) Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon, You’d find me in a minute— you’re already there waiting!

 

 

GOD IS OUR STRENGTH 

Lesson four is that when we are weak- He is strong. Life can be so difficult and disappointing at times. The Bible gives us encourgement for every kind of human dilemma. His Holy Spirit will give us strength to do the right thing and the hardest thing. We can finish the task given to us if we ask for help.  Nothing is too hard for Him.  This verse from Isaiah is a favorite of mine.

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) …but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

GOD LOVES US

Lastly, we have a great and loving Heavenly Father who provides for all of our needs. There is security and a peace of mind knowing and trusting that God is sovereign and in control. He will be with us even through the “valley of the shadow of death” and His word gives us comfort and encouragement.

Psalm 36:7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 57:1–2 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

Matthew 6:25–26 “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?

 

Dear Reader, Next time you are feeling discouraged just look at the birds!

 

                                                                  This is Cupcake, an emu at the Capron Park Zoo