~ Birds of Prey? ~

[Lani]

Numbers 13:26-33
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.


Some of the Israelites sent to explore the land said “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Numbers 13:33



When I paused to gaze out the window one winter day, I noticed large, dark shadows of birds on the snow. I thought that only a bird of prey could cast a shadow that size, and I became concerned for the small animals that nest and feed outside my home. As I continued to watch the shadows fly over the white landscape, I realized that what I was actually seeing were the shadows of small birds, their size magnified by the angle of the light.

I thought of the many times I had made a similar mistake with troubles that seemed to loom over me; rumors circulating that jobs might be lost; the possibility that the large, dead tree could fall on the house; the sudden pain that could be a symptom of a life-threatening disease. Birds of prey are a common sight where I live, and the catastrophes I dread do happen to some people. But more often than not, our problems are so magnified by our fears that they seem like giants.

However, we do not have to fear the future. Whether we are faced with a minor dilemma or a major catastrophe, we can trust God's promise to walk with us always.


Prayer: Dear God, help us to remember that you “did not give us the spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power” (2 Timothy 1:7) In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Prayer Focus of Day: Those who are afraid

Thought for the Day: When we focus on God's faithfulness, hawks can become sparrows.

Story shared by: D. Adams (MO)
Source: Upper Room Daily Devotional: 9/4/11