1660 Watch the Birds

BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

I’ve been watching a dove meticulously build its nest for several days in the palm tree by my back deck. Did you know that dove mate for life? Did you know the male searches for the nesting site, but the female has the final say on location?

And what I’ve been watching is an orchestrated partnership in building. The male gathers twigs and branches and brings them to the female. He lands on the females back, while passing her the building supplies, then she weaves it all together to build a perfect nest, awaiting her precious eggs.

Y’all, it’s the first signs of getting old. I’m now watching birds.

But the winds here on the island have been extreme, and I found their perfectly constructed nest laying on the hard ground.

Everything they had worked for was gone. The babies would be coming soon and they had no nest for them. Imagine the panic. Poor mama must have been stressed the heck out. Poor daddy must have been desperate to fix this mess.

Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you even feel that way right now. You worked so hard, you were so close, then it was gone. You’re left wondering what you’re going to do and how this will ever be okay again. But honey, look at your track record. You have a 100% survival rate so far. You’ve made it through every single thing that has ever happened to you. And whether you acknowledge him or not, that was God getting you through. That was God’s provision. That was God’s blessing. That was God’s divine work in your life.

Let God’s proven provision bring you peace today. He has proven his faithfulness to you. He will care for you through this too.

After finding the fallen nest, I saw a bird flying through the air with a long twig. There he was, gathering materials again. And there she was, rebuilding her nest. They was working quickly to prepare for the eggs she was about to lay. What they needed was provided.

That day, I saw God’s hand at work, caring for these bird. Providing what was needed, even when things had gone wrong. Why aren’t we able to see this better in our daily lives? Why do we assume the burden and stress when God so clearly demonstrates not only his ability, but his desire to care for us?

Jesus says in Matthew 6:26-27 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

The birds trust what they need will be there when they need it, even when disaster hits. We can too, and even more so.

Jesus says you are valuable. He says you are priceless. He says your heavenly father will make a way for you. And your worrying will not help anything.

Watch the birds once those eggs hatch and there are hungry little mouths to feed. The mama and daddy dove take turns feeding their babies. She flies out of the nest searching for what is needed for that day. Food is needed to take back to her babies. If he sits in their nest and worries about how hard it will be to find food, are the babies fed? If she chirps away and sings a sad song to the babies about the stress of flying out once again to feed them, does she help anything? If they worry too much about leaving the babies and circle the nest like a helicopter parents, they can’t bring back dinner.

So, she trusts. Every day she trusts. She leaves the nest with confidence knowing the babies are hungry and she will come back with food for them. Daily trust for their daily provision.

And Jesus says, look how Papa takes care of that bird. Just look how he has exactly what she needs as she goes out to find it. Look how she trusts and he provides. And won’t he do even more for you? Won’t Papa take care of you?

Oh my sister, why are you singing that sad song? Why were you worrying yesterday? Why sit and dwell on what is lost when God has given you the opportunity to do something today?

This morning, the doves were singing in the palm tree. Their joy is evident. They are happy to be alive. They were cared for yesterday, and they are preparing to go out and find what God has provided for them and their family again today.

Can’t we wake up like that too? Can’t our joy be evident?

Why do we dread the day? Why do we worry about things we cannot control? Can’t we trust the ONE who is in control?

In this same chapter of the Bible, Jesus teaches us how to pray.

Jesus says, “This is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, (means to recognize God as holy and sacred, powerful and personal)
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”

There it is. Give us this day our daily bread. Provide for today, God, we trust you.

You have always made a way for us. You have always carried us through. You have been faithful and I have no reason to believe you would ever stop now. Just as the bird leaves her nest in faith that she will find the food needed for the day, so will I. I will get up and do what I need to do. I will do all I can do. And I will do it singing a joyful song, KNOWING you care for me.

What is it you need today? God knew you would need it before you did. And get this, God cares about your need. He cares so much about your specific and individual need today, that he aligned for your provision ahead of time. It’s already there for you, my sister.

If you need to rebuild your nest today after disaster hit, there’s a supply waiting for you.
If you need to feed a few extra mouths today, there will be enough for you.
The energy you need will be provided. The time you need is available.

What is needed for today is here today … Just today.

The bird has what we refer to as a bird brain. We consider them generally stupid, incapable of knowing better. But that bird brain is a gift from their creator … it knows one thing … it knows to go out and get what is provided for today, and sing about it along the way.

Here we are with our human advanced brains that focus on all the wrong things and worry ourselves into a frenzy. And as we worry about tomorrow, next week, next month and 10 years from now, we miss what Jesus has told us to do. Jesus told us to ask God for what is needed today, and look at the birds to see how God always provides perfectly.

My advanced human brain tells me there are so many things that could go wrong and I won’t know what to do then. My worries overwhelm me with worst case scenarios that haven’t even happened yet. My thoughts of all the things I can’t control then rob me of what I can control.
It’s literally like letting Satan in my nest. Letting him come in and steal from what I have. Letting him disturb my peace. Letting him distract me from what I can control. What I can control are my thoughts in this moment and my actions. I can’t fix the worries of tomorrow, but I can do something about the needs of today.

It starts by kicking Satan out of my nest. You don’t get to sit here and stir up trouble. You don’t get to take up space where God has provided. You don’t get to steal my energy and my joy.

Here’s what I figured out … that dove doesn’t have next week’s dinner. That dove has 2 things: Trust the food for today is out there, and the push to go out and find it.

God, give me strength today. Guide me today. I receive and I will be faithful. The enemy will not get in my head and talk me out of doing what I can do. He will not overwhelm me with concern of how I can maintain progress in the days yet to come.

Satan, there’s no room for you here. You’re out of this nest.

My God provides for me today.

Jesus tells me in Matthew 6: 34, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

God gets my attention today. Not worry. Not the lies of the enemy. Not overwhelm. I will focus on what God is doing. I won’t worry about energy to do it again tomorrow or the next day. I will use what he has given me today and do the best I can with it. And whatever comes tomorrow, God’s got it covered when it comes.

No sitting in the nest today singing sad songs and worrying. God has provided today, sing your song of joy, be happy to be alive, and go out and get what he has for you!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com