Every Monday through Friday, twice a day, almost without fail, my youngest son and I make the short trek of about five miles from our house to his school and then back again. Each day, we see the same businesses and even some of the same vehicles as they travel with the same regularity the path that we do. One landmark that we pass is a rather large cemetery in which there are several large trees. Unless there are groundskeepers about or funeral arrangements being made, we usually see an array of animals moving amongst these trees gathering what we imagine is a hardy breakfast.
Most abundant are the squirrels and a host of birds, taking advantage of the well-groomed garden-like atmosphere of the cemetery. This morning, however, we had the chance, while we sat on the street in front of this place waiting for traffic to clear, to witness and unusual phenomenon. A squirrel, minding his own business and seemingly bent on gathering his day’s ration of squirrelly food, found himself under the claws of a bird of prey, who seemingly had a different, meaty breakfast in mind. The bird swooped, grabbed, rolled, twisted, flew off, dove once more, grabbed, missed, twisted, flew off, only to dive over and over in an attempt to make the squirrel its meal.
There was one major problem in this bird’s plan that was readily perceptible to my son and me but obviously not to the bird. The squirrel was about the same size if not bigger than the bird. There was just no way that this bird, with its diminutive size, was ever going to get that squirrel off the ground, no matter how hungry it was or how big it perceived itself.
Ever find yourself in a position like this bird? Have you ever bitten off more than you can chew and ended up paying the price? Most of us have. It is great to think big and shoot for the stars, especially when it comes to spiritual matters when we have given it all over to God to do the impossible. Yet, we must understand that God will work within the natural order of things, which means He will take his time, often bringing the triumphs and victories to us slowly, one bite at a time. He made a king out of the lowly shepherd boy David, but it took years, even after his anointing, through many odd and twisted paths.
Many times, we, like Abraham, who decided to seek a “son of promise” through the handmaiden Hagar, run ahead of God and bite off more than for which we bargained. That never ends well and almost always brings sorrow and mourning. Today, let God lead you, and be patient enough to walk His timeline. He will show you the way.
