Hummingbirds and Bats...

Over this space in time we have been living in I've become a bird watcher. In order to enable me to see more birds I've put a hummingbird feeder in my back yard.  They are fascinating little creatures. 

Did you know that while hummingbirds may be small they are mighty? They are highly territorial; the males stake a claim to a feeder and drive off any other male that comes along - they will also do this to other species of birds. They also get to know "their human" (the one that comes to fill the feeder), and will let them know when the feeder is empty or the nectar needs to be replaced.  I actually had my little guy fly up to my sliding glass door and stare at me! It was pretty cool. 

Because of my fascination with my winged friends, I've started paying attention to their feeder everyday. After all, I want to make sure they have what they need. But an odd thing started happening. I would fill the feeder all the way up in the morning, and by the next morning it would be completely empty!  Now, I only ever saw 1-2 hummingbirds at it, and they are NOT big enough to drink almost a liter of liquid everyday.  What was happening??? 

It was time to do a little research, and a quick Google search told me everything I needed to know. BATS! The answer was BATS! The number one reason for a hummingbird feeder to be empty day after day was BATS! Quite the unsettling thought.

The bats were stealing what I had given to the hummingbirds. They were taking for themselves what was meant for someone else. They were lapping up what didn't belong to them leaving the hummingbirds with nothing at all. 

SO. NOT. COOL.

There is a lesson in there - right?

The bats are ugliness stealing sweet goodness from the lovelies. They take everything for themselves leaving nothing but emptiness. While the hummingbirds are getting much needed rest, the bats swoop in and steal from them.

Let's break down the characters in the story:

The Bat is the enemy of our soul. He is ALWAYS looking for ways to steal, kill and destroy. He lies in wait for us to not be paying attention and he swoops in to take everything away.

The Lovelies are us! Children of the Most High God. We spend our days doing the work we have been given to do - always busy, and a lot of times we are blissfully unaware of the enemy lying in wait. 

Much of the time we are taken off-guard by the attack of the enemy because of the tactics he uses.  He is stealthy and covert. A lot of times we don't know what he is doing until we are in the thick of it. Sounds disheartening, doesn't it? 

We can't defeat the enemy of our soul.  We can't make him stop his mission of destroying us. So, what do we do? WHAT DO WE DO? 

Here comes the super cool part!

We lean in to the one who loves us best. We can't destroy the enemy, but our God will - one day. We can't successfully fight him, but our God CAN. We lean into Him completely. We choose to intentionally trust Him with ourselves. We submit to His sovereignty knowing that He is God and is on the throne.

I'm pretty sure that "my" hummingbirds have come to know that I will keep their feeder full. Similarly, I have come to know that the Lord is fully worthy of my trust, as He has shown Himself to be faithful time and time again. 

We trust the One who gave all for us.

We trust the One who will never leave us or forsake us.

We trust the One who is faithful when we are not.

We trust the One who is our shield and defender.

We trust the One who loves us all the time. 

We trust... we trust... and we trust some more. 

I can hear your voices in my head, "But Jacqui, you make it sound so easy!  You have now idea what the enemy is doing to me!"

No, it's not easy.  Our humanness always wants to have a voice. It wants to cast the blame for all of our yuck at God's door. It doesn't want us to believe that He is good and on the throne - no matter what. But we have to take charge of our minds! We have to silence the "voices in our heads" so we can hear the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit that is speaking truth. We have to KNOW scripture and replace the lies of the enemy with the truth of God's Word. 

No, I don't know what the enemy is trying to do in your life, but I do know who God is and that His plans and ways are perfect.

I'm thinking about Joseph, in the book of Genesis. I think it is fair to say that he was given the bad end of the stick. His brothers sold him into slavery, the master's wife lied about him and got him thrown into prison, and his fellow prisoners forgot all about them after he interpreted their dreams adding years to his time there. Then one day...

Then God starting showing Joseph the why (there is always a why). He placed him in a position of authority that had his brothers bowing before him. All of the yuck that Joseph went through had a purpose! It wasn't for nothing! Not only did the Lord use him to make sure all of the people of the land lived through the famine, but to save his own family as well! The moment Joseph saw his brothers he understood the why. There were no hard feelings or un-forgiveness; instead there was wisdom, deeper relationship with God and rejoicing! 

Much of the battle lies within ourselves. Are we willing to acknowledge the Lord and His sovereignty - no matter what is going on around us. Are we willing to trust Him with the outcome of things, even if it looks nothing like we want to? Are we willing to say He is good, even when the enemy is on the prowl spreading ugliness everywhere we look? 

Dear Ones, trusting the Lord will always be worth the effort. When things are exceptionally difficult we often have to remind ourselves over and over of his goodness - and that is ok, as long was keep doing it. 

Psalm 33:4 tells us that all that the Lord does is trustworthy. 

The Lord is worthy of our trust.

Now, let's go back to how my little hummingbird lets me know when he needs me. 

We need to do that with the Father. Are you running to Him when things aren't right, or are you expending a lot of energy trying to figure it out for yourself? He is ready and willing to be there for you, IF you are ready and willing to run to Him. Are you?

You can do this, dear one. You can! It will take effort on your part, but the effort is worth the reward. 

Much love.