Be Still

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Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.”

One time, as I approached the front door of our office, I saw a little bird being trapped between the corner of the ceiling and the glass window. Trying to escape the glass window, it keeps hitting itself in the glass. As I got close, it obviously got frightened and kept moving around hitting itself. It then started snapping its beak as if saying “you take another step closer and I’ll have ya! I’ll bite ya… I will!” But I reach out at it and put my hand around it. As I held it in my hand, that little bird went completely still. No more flapping. No more snapping. No more moving. He seemed to be able to submit and rest.

Now I don’t know what goes on in a bird brain that made him submit and stop fighting. Maybe he’s thinking “So this is how it ends…I’m trapped by one of those giant walker creatures. Maybe he’s thinking “my only chance is to play dead, and when he least expects it, I’ll surprise him and make a break for it.” I’m not sure what goes on in a bird brain. All I know is that as I held it, it didn’t move a muscle. My two officemates were watching that time and I had visions of launching him up into the air saying “be free little birdy” and watching him flap its wings and come plummeting back down to the ground. But thankfully that was not the case! He was off, ‘good as gold.’ Probably thinking that he has outsmarted me with his playing dead trick!

Moral of the story:

Well, this got me thinking later. We are like that bird. We flap and we snap and oftentimes, found ourselves trapped in a worse mess. We feel hopeless and unable to move at times and think there is no way out. It can be over a health issue, finance, relationships, and jobs – any of the many things that get thrown at us in this life. But we also need to learn from this little bird, to be still and submit and rest knowing that we are in the hand of God. When I held this bird in my hand he just totally relaxed. I hope we can learn that too, for there’s no trouble to which He cannot untrap us.