Avoiding Spiritual Nose Dives
You'll never believe the silly bird antics I witnessed at our backyard feeder yesterday. I'm still chuckling over this one!
So there I was, heading outside to check if spring had finally sprung, when I spotted this large starling stuck head-first inside the birdfeeder. Somehow, he had wedged his plump body through the tiny opening at the top and gotten stuck. Yup, rather than just pecking at the food from the sides like the other birds, old chunky cheeks got the brilliant idea to nose-dive straight in after a snack!
I did a double take at the bird standing on its head as the poor thing flailed around, feathers flying, trying in vain to work himself back out. His scrawny tail feathers kept getting caught on the feeder’s lip every time he backed up. You could tell the foolish bird had absolutely no plan for extracting himself from that self-imposed trap.
I quickly hollered for Jason to help the poor creature. I tried not to laugh—I really did—but the sight of that bird standing on its head was just too much. If birds could blush, this one would've turned fire engine red at its own ridiculousness.
Finally, as Jason approached, through sheer panic, the featherbrain burst forth from his feeder prison. I'm pretty sure he’ll never attempt those nonsensical aerobatics again!
As silly as that whole scene was, it stopped me in my tracks because, honestly, don't we all get stuck in similar stupid situations sometimes? We barrel ahead towards some goal with reckless entitlement, assuming our way is brilliant. Soon enough, we're trapped by the consequences of our hair-brained shortcuts and inability to simply follow wise counsel.
Jesus said it best in Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” When we make chasing God our main priority, He directs our steps clearly. But the second we get impatient and insist on charging ahead into personal agendas, we end up imprisoned on our heads and flailing around in vain, much like our feathered friend!
None of us is above making foolish decisions sometimes. But may we learn from the starling to pause and align our pursuits with God's wisdom. Why struggle and strive needlessly when we can obey and find rest? It’s time to exit any self-made prisons we're thrashing in and FLY FREE in Christ's strength! In other words, let’s not live our lives like a bird brain!