Last spring, I moved one of my favorite pieces of pottery from one side of my porch to the other. Before too long, I noticed that there were leaves building up inside and eventually even pine straw. I wondered how this pot was getting filled up with so much debris and decided I needed to clean it out when I had time. The following week I went to clean it out and a small bird flew right into my face as if to say: ” I dare you to come any closer!” Later that day when I peered inside I saw four small eggs. Ah… this was a nest for her babies. I told my children and grand kids not to get too close or disturb the nest because Mommy birds will abandon their nests if disturbed. Wondering why this rule does not apply to humans? Now I know some of you were thinking the same thing. I just happened to say it out loud:)
It seemed like forever before the eggs hatched and even longer before the little birds flew away, but the process was so amazing. What struck me however was the one little egg that was left abandoned in the nest. What happened? And it got me to thinking….
Some times we can get too comfortable in our “little nests”.The routine of our days going in and out of the seasons we are in, staying in a comfortable place for fear that if we challenge ourselves or do something different we might fail. We all do it at one time or another, but we were made to be creative, shifting and changing with the seasons of our lives. Sure there are some things that should not change, but as we grow in Christ, we also find ourselves challenged by the new season.
The Apostle Paul writes that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind and it is this renewing by the Word of God that stirs up creativity and challenges us to follow Jesus into each season. It is the renewing of our mind that enables us to see today in light of yesterday and look forward to tomorrow.
Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is– his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
But sometimes we get stuck in the pattern of the world and the pattern we are living in right now is fear. We have become too comfortable with fear. He follows us into our homes and shuts the doors and whispers his hideous lies that life is out of control and God is distant or does not care or perhaps cares but not about you.
Friends, fear is overcome by love; Christ’s love. It is what combats our feelings of helplessness.
The problem is we have built a nest for fear to reside and as vessels made in the image of God, we hunker down in our nest and cover up our worry with pine straw. But the straw is easily blown away and reveals an empty nest with an unhatched egg. Okay, maybe I have carried this analogy of pot and birds and nest and egg too far, but hopefully I am painting a picture of being too comfortable with fear. Allowing fear in the nest of our lives and allowing it to hatch when we do not nurture our relationship with God.
The year 2020 started with so many wonderful fresh ideas. This was meant to be the year of 2020 vision. Wasn’t this the year of new beginnings and shifting seasons and.. birth of new dreams? Yes and it still is. I believe that the Lord’s intention was for us to become uncomfortable in our old nest so that we could make some needed changes.
Is it time for you to sweep out the nest of your heart and see if fear and anxiety due to the seriousness of life events has caused you to hunker down and give up? I had to do just that. I was filling up my heart with so much bad news that I had forgotten the GOOD NEWS. The simplicity of the love of Christ that came to us in human form; the Son of God who laid down His life to cause us to first get uncomfortable with our life of sin, and then offered us a better way. Are you feeling lost amidst the chaos of our day? 2020 need not be hijacked by our fear. It’s time to ask the Lord to examine our hearts pushing out fear and giving wings to the dreams in our nest.
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