Trust

We had a hummingbird stuck in our garage today.  It flew in while my husband had the door open working on cars.  The problem was, once he was in he wouldn’t fly low enough to be able to see the door opening so he could get out.  He kept flying back and forth, back and forth at ceiling height, till he became too tired, and would have to stop and rest for a while.  This went on for the better part of an hour anyway.

I went out there every so often with a rake and tried to guide him lower. After several unsuccessful tries I was able to guide him lower. At that point I think he was just too tired to fly.  He also had gotten cobwebs around his little feet.  My husband was able to gently pick him up and hold him while I carefully pulled off some of the cobwebs.  After a bit we set him on a chair to see if he would fly away.  He didn’t, so I picked him up and held him, and gently kept working off cobwebs.  He just sat so quietly in my hand allowing me to help him.  After a few minutes he was able to flap his wings and fly away.

As I was thinking about it tonight, it occurred to me we are sometimes not so different from my little friend.  Sometimes, when we have a situation in our lives and we don’t know what to do about it, that is how we can react.  Panic mode.  We go back and forth in our minds.  Maybe we should do this, maybe this is the way to go and so on.  Or we talk to 5 different friends and see what they think we should do.

What we don’t see is that like me; standing there with the rake trying to guide the bird out, God is always there waiting for us to turn to Him so He can guide us.  Why is it that sometimes it takes us SO long to remember to turn to God; and get His wisdom on the situation?

I’m sure there are some of you that never react like this!  But for a lot of us, if we are honest, there are certain situations where this can be our go to reaction.  Especially if we are caught unaware.

Like my poor little friend with the cobwebs wound around his feet, we are also tied up by our own issues.  It might be things from our past, sin, fears, emotions, health issues, relational problems or a myriad of other issues keeping us from seeing there is a way out.  The good news is just like my little friend got unbound, so can we.

When that little bird was finally sitting on my hand, I was amazed.  He wasn’t struggling or trying to get away as I supposed he would have.  He didn’t even appear to be very afraid.  It just sat there trustingly; letting me pull those cobwebs off.  To that bird I was all powerful in that moment.  I could have harmed him with no effort at all.  Yet, he still sat there and let me get him unwound one piece at a time.

That is what the Lord would love for us to do.  Just sit quietly at His feet.  Allow Him to gently remove those things that need removing.  Just trust Him with all of us, knowing that He means us no harm, and only desires to set us free; so we too can take off and fly.

Such lessons the Lord can teach us through things that happen in our lives! We just need to be open to listen and to learn.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.