Flight vs. Fright

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 

even then Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me

 (Psalm 139:9-10)

He caught my eye and captured my attention – a large black bird perched atop the steel beam that held the traffic light over the heavily-traveled street.  The beam dipped and swayed in the ferocious wind, but the bird appeared totally undisturbed by his precarious position.  Watching, I grew fascinated.  Four lanes of traffic whizzed past only a few feet below him and a fall would have been fatal.  But the bird appeared as peaceful as if he were perched on a sturdy limb of a giant tree in some pastoral setting.

For weeks I had been turning a number of matters over to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to bring them to their best conclusion, only to realize that almost immediately, I began to fret about them again.  I was as frustrated with my inability to leave them in His hands as I was about the situations themselves.

As I sat waiting for the red light to change, I watched the bird and marveled at how undisturbed he was by the shaking of his foundation. Suddenly I found myself longing for his sense of tranquility.  I wished my world were as uncomplicated as his.

It was then my mind was drawn to Jesus’ lesson concerning the birds:

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; 

yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they? 

(Matthew 6:26)

Birds’ lives are not without difficulties, for like us human beings they must work for their food, provide a place to raise their families, and see to it that all their needs are met.  They have many enemies against which they must protect themselves and their young.  Like the proverbial housewife, their work is never done.

Thinking along those lines, I suddenly felt akin to the bird.  I wondered why, though, with all the advantages I had over him, I couldn’t be equally unruffled by the winds that shake my world.   It was then that I realized the difference.  The bird’s security came not from his ability to maintain his footing on the metal beam, but from his ability to fly.  Instinctively he knew that no matter how unstable the beam became, he could, at any moment, wing his way to safety.

“Oh, for wings!” I thought, and was reminded of the scripture that assures me I have already have them:

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; 

they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; 

they shall walk and not faint 

(Isaiah 40:31)

Birds have wings of feathers; mine are wings of faith.  Faith, not in my own ability to bring about the desired culmination, but in the All-Wise, All-Knowing, All-Powerful Father Who loves me and wants only the best for me.

Reality dawned on me then. The reason I had not been able to leave my concerns in His hand was that, while I had been asking Him to work things out, I kept thrashing around in my mind for solutions.  In that frame of mind, my sense of security was as impossible to achieve as the bird’s would have been if it had depended on his ability to sink his claws into the steel beam and hang on.

The red light changed to green and I was on my way again but with a new sense of peace in heart and mind.  I thanked God for opening my eyes and freeing me of the unnecessary worry under which I had been laboring.  And I asked His forgiveness for not trusting Him more completely.

Lord, I know that I can trust You; You have proven that it’s true,
that You always will protect me and will see each matter through.
Help me wait for Your provision, resting in Your strength alone; 
borne along on wings of faith, until the day I reach Your throne.