This has been a wild weather week for many of the southeastern states in the USA; strong wind gusts, hail the size of golf balls, booming thunder, sharp lightening, and tornadoes ripping across the land. Thankfully, my mother and I, and our home, were left untouched. A few branches scattered across the lawn, but nothing more.
Over the years I have been amazed at the power of storms; and, equally amazed at the resolute attitude of animals to keep going and rebuild in the wake of any storm’s aftermath. Like ours, their homes are often destroyed, too. I have seen a bird’s nest keep hold on the tree branches in the roughest of winds, and have also seen them topple to the ground in the softest of breezes, but I have never seen these winged creatures give up in despair. No matter the calamity, the birds still sing.
It seems that animals and birds have an inborn understanding of God’s character revealed in nature. They sense God’s finger drawing messages of love in the earth and His voice speaking truth in the wind. I love the verse in Romans 1:20 that tells us, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” God is everywhere and He can be found if we look with eyes searching for truth. He promised that if we seek we will find.
Why is it so easy for us humans to despair? Why don’t animals give up when nature strikes its cruel blows? At the end of every storm, how can animals accept their tragedies with composure and continue on in peaceful stride? Why do we humans agonize over material ruin while the birds still sing when they have lost all?
Jesus taught the truths of nature to His followers when He said to them in Matthew 6:25-27, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life — whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, because your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
If only we humans could take hold of positive resolve when adversity strikes. If only we could move on peacefully to build again when disaster takes away what we toiled so long to gain. If only we would determine to search for God’s truth in the middle of every mishap. When we seek, we find. When we knock, the door is opened. When we ask, we receive all we need.
The next time difficulties come your way, don’t forget why the birds still sing.
