Birds of Prey

I went to put some food out for the birds the other day, and there was a fluttering of lots of little birds taking off, and one much larger bird flying away to take refuge in a nearby tree. A sparrow hawk was obviously after his breakfast!

I’ve seen him (or her) around the bird feeders before. Thankfully I’ve never seen a little one being caught, though I’ve occasionally found a mess of feathers on the ground, evidence of a successful breakfast raid. The smaller birds seem to take very little notice and carry on with their everyday existence, accepting that one of their number might be snatched but not worrying too much about it.

Is this rather like us sometimes? We carry on our daily lives, often oblivious to the fact that the enemy is prowling around looking for opportunities to attack. A friend recently pointed out the proximity of the two verses above, suggesting that if we don’t cast all our cares on the Lord, the enemy has easy access to them. I hadn`t thought of it like that before, but if, as Peter says, he’s always looking for opportunities to attack, then when we try to manage our worries and anxieties ourselves we’re leaving an open door for the enemy to ride in and create more problems and burden us still further.

Very often we try to manage things in our own strength. It’s partly because our parents teach us to become independent, able to manage things for ourselves, and that’s how it should be. But we’re then in conflict because the Bible tells us to lean on, trust and rely on God! Sometimes those who’re struggling with stress and anxiety are doing so because they’re trying to manage everything in their own strength, and they’ve got deep into the problems before they realised it. We need to learn to turn each day over to the Lord, with all the cares and anxieties that it may hold, knowing that He does care for us, and will sustain and support us through. Amazingly, God cares about even the little things, and actually wants us to share them with Him

Prayer: Father God, thank You that You care even about the small details of my life. Please forgive me for thinking that You’re not interested. Help me to turn everything over to You and to become less self-reliant and more God-reliant. In Jesus’ name I ask it, Amen.

Prayer for those carrying a lot of stress at the moment: Heavenly Father, I can’t seem to find my way at the moment and I need Your help. Please forgive me for trying to manage things myself. Please help me to cast all my cares on You, and give me wisdom as to how best to deal with the problems. They seem so many at the moment, but with Your help and guidance I can see them through one by one. Thank You, Lord, Amen.