Studying, understanding and applying the Scriptures typically is an act of faith and God’s grace. Sometimes we open the Bible and come away with more questions than answers. However, from time to time God gives us tangible glimpses of biblical truth. My most recent example occurred during a recent trip to Charleston, S.C.
My wife and I, along with our youngest daughter and her family, were staying on the Isle of Palms and I’d risen early to observe the sunrise from the pier nearby. As I stood there watching the orange-red hue starting to paint the horizon, a flock of birds approached and settled on the rails of the pier.
The birds, blackbirds and gulls, lined up almost in formation and suddenly burst into song, as if heralding the arrival of a new day. Other birds converged on the scene and did much the same thing, all facing eastward and the rising sun. This continued until the sun emerged to cast its light upon the South Carolina coastline.
As I witnessed this wondrous, curious display, I couldn’t help but think about numerous Bible passages in which we’re told how God rightly receives the praises of His creation. For instance, Psalm 19:1-6 tells us:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after Day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun….
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other….”
Another passage, Psalm 66:1-4, expresses it this way:
“Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.
Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!’...
All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You, they sing the praises of Your name.”
Perhaps an ornithologist could offer a different explanation, but I’d like to think that the birds I observed on that Isle of Palms pier had no purpose other than to praise and thank their Creator for meeting their needs every day. As Jesus Christ told the multitude during His celebrated ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).
If birds instinctively understand and appreciate the One who feeds them so faithfully and generously, why is it so difficult for us to acknowledge and declare our gratitude to our Lord?
Most mornings, as I’m struggling to wipe away the cobwebs of sleep from my brain, a familiar verse comes into my mind as I recognize God has given me another day in which my heart continues to beat in my chest, breath still fills my lungs, and blood still pulses through my veins. It’s Psalm 118:24, ‘This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
I’d like to think that’s what the birds were singing that morning in their own unique avian manner, welcoming the advent of a new day and trusting that as He always has, the God of creation will continue to watch over them and provide for their needs. Maybe the birds of Isle of Palms could teach us a thing or two.
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