Bluebirds And Anxiety

Today I'd like to comment about the above photo that I took in my back yard a little over a week ago. If you look close you can see a nest with blue eggs. They are actually eggs laid by a mother bluebird. Two of the chicks have hatched. Three eggs are not yet. The odd piece of machinery on the right comes from my propane tank. It is the gauge telling me how much gas I have in the tank. Here's the story.

I wanted to check to see if I had enough gas, so I lifted a yellow metal cover over the gauge. To my great astonishment there was this nest. The cover has an opening that allows just enough room for the little birds to go in and out and acts very much like any ordinary bird house. Seeing what I had come upon I quickly called my wife Sylvia, took this photo with my iPhone and quietly put the cover back down. We both decided the little babies must not be disturbed. We were delighted to watch the bluebird mother enter her house to care for her young as we stood about thirty feet away. Daddy bluebird also dropped down and perched outside as she entered. Since then, they have been going in and out regularly. We've not dared to open the cover again. In fact, we called the gas company and asked them also to stay away for the duration.

How long does it take for baby bluebirds to mature? As it turns out, several interesting facts surfaced as I did a Google search, i.e. Bluebird Babies In Back Yard. It appears that the mother eats the eggshells after the babies hatch. They provide protein. In about a week the babies begin to get feathers and in less than three weeks they are ready to fly. All this is quite amazing to me. As the author of the linked piece says, "May all your blues be bluebirds."

My further point is that none of this happens by chance, accident or some vague natural phenomenon called "Mother Nature." Here is what our Lord Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt. 6:24-34). 

As I gaze again upon this bluebird nest photo and ponder the little family in my backyard, I sense our Lord speaking again to both of us. He reminds us that our anxieties about health and money issues and our future are quite unnecessary. He listens to our prayers. Jesus promises that our heavenly Father values us more than these tiny bluebirds that He is protecting. It was not by chance that I was moved to lift up the cover to my gas tank. I hardly ever do that. I usually entrust all that to Selph's Propane coming by automatically to check the levels. In fact, when I reported the phenomenon they told me this was not the first time that my tank cover has been so used. And they are always very careful not to disturb the nest in the Spring when they do check. I didn't know that.

And yet, the heavenly Father wanted us to know about it. So I was strangely moved to lift up the cover. As a result much of our anxiety about health, finances and the future has melted away. We shall focus upon the troubles of today and how we may please our heavenly Father. Everything else is in His hands. Food, clothing, shelter and all the rest that we worry about will be cared for.

I pray that He speaks the same Word also to you.

Hope in the Time of Trouble

One can get quite discouraged when speaking about times of trouble, as I did yesterday. We naturally want to hear words of hope and possibility, words that tell us the future is open to endless potential. And it is, but not simply because we insist that it is. I'm focusing this week upon Daniel 12 where I find the words,

"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. . . But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. . ."

What are these mysterious words all about? Who is this Prince Michael? What charge has he received? Are you and I included in the people to be delivered?

First a bit about Prince Michael, archangel. Besides this passage, only three times is his name found in Holy Scripture:

Daniel 10:12-14 -Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

Jude 1:8-10 -"In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them."

Revelation 12:7-9 - " And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."

Other church fathers suggested he was 

• the cherub who stood at the gate of the garden of Eden to guard access to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). 
• the angel through whom the Lord God gave his people the ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
• the angel that prevented Balaam and his donkey from proceeding (Numbers 22:21-35)
• the angel that routed Sennacherib's army when it surrounded Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:35-36)

Whatever you make of all this, we are assured by God's revealed Word that we have spiritual armies fighting at our side against the darkness, destruction and terror of these days in which we live. Based upon the Scriptures listed, that does not suggest that our faith in God's love and mercy will be untested. We will all face doubts, anxiety, confusion and terror. Those are the weapons of the powers of darkness. But we have many promises assuring us that both in this present time and at the end of this time Satan and his demons are and will be defeated. 

None of us likes war, but we are at war. Therefore, we must take the words of the Apostle in Ephesians 6:10-18 most seriously:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."