I am not a huge fan of several of God’s tiny creatures and those that top the list are bats, mice, cockroaches, birds and snakes, for the most part I can handle other tiny creatures, like bugs, spiders, lizards, frogs, but not like I am going to have any for a pet. I believe I am justified in my disdain for a couple of the creatures based on my history with them. I once had a mouse in my bedroom, and when I called for my dad to come get it, he simply opened the door quickly, threw me a broom, and proceeded to yell instructions through the door on how to handle it – I found a strength deep down inside me I didn’t know I possessed and was able to handle the critter, but still, not a big fan. When I was in my late teens around 2:30 in the morning, I was woken up with the sound of tiny wings flapping rapidly that got louder, because nanoseconds later, that sound I discovered, was a bat was flying through my hair, in a pitch dark bedroom and I have never forgiven them, in fact, I have held that one incident against the entire bat population since 1990.
With us being in the spring season, there has been lots of talk of all these little creatures that I don’t particularly like, from finding them in pools as my friends start to open them for the summer, to being found in back yards and garages, and even in bedrooms. And as friends share their victory over some of the creatures, others can barely listen to the tales, as it sends shivers down their spines. So, I began to think about these little guys and how we as humans – so much bigger than they, give them so much attention, when we have the power and authority to help them make a better decision than they are making. We can either release them into their environment and help them go back to where they belong, or if they are harmful, poisonous snakes, dispose of them. Instead, we share horror stories of how we ran in fear allowing the tiny creature to steal our joy, leaving us feeling violated and causing an unhealthy depth of terror, while distracting us from what we are doing.
After a round of basketball, getting my rears kicked by our 13 year old on the court, I came in the house to get some water and looked out the kitchen window and what I saw pretty amazing, it was a bird, taking on a snake, pecking him with his beak, shaking it around in his mouth, flapping him violently from side to side, literally showing the snake who was boss. I must have watched this bird for no less than 5 minutes, taking on his nemesis and it was quite enthralling, primarily because I was in the house with no way (at least that is what I choose to believe) for the snake and or bird to enter.
Not too long ago, I had a friend tell me that when we get to heaven we are going to be amazed at just how little satan is, and to think how much power we are currently giving him in our lives. From believing the lies, he gently places in our heads that scream louder than the Truth, to the warfare he creates within relationships and circumstances where we are given the choice to fight the person or the situation, or hand it over to the One who has already promised victory.
Ephesians 6:12 “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
As I sat and watched that bird take care of business with the snake, it was a great reminder, that as believers, we have all the authority to take down the one that attempts to steal our joy, our security, our confidence, our relationships, our peace, our strength and so much more than has been promised to us as Christ followers, simply by speaking the name of Jesus, we don’t even have to put up a fight like this little bird did. But so often we choose to fight like this little bird, with conversations we have with ourselves over lies we are believing, with our words to those we love or to whoever is in our warpath, we fight out of anger or fear, jealousy or pride, we isolate, we overcompensate, we struggle, we give up, we choose to “fight” instead of allowing our Defender to win our battle
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
We have a choice, when we are confronted with the enemy of our soul, to take our Father at His word – James 4:7 “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.” Or use every ounce of energy we can muster to fight our battle. I don’t want to be the bird, fighting against his enemy, I want to save my energy for the things that God has called me to and rest in His victory!