The Buzzard, the Bat, and the Bumble Bee.

Apparently, if you put a buzzard in a pen that is two metres by two metres and it is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of three to four metres. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly; it will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

We have spoken before about bats. The ordinary bat is a remarkable and nimble creature in the air.  It flies around at night using its sonar for flight, but it cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

We don’t have bumblebees in Australia, but in New Zealand I have fed tired bumble bees who strayed into our lounge using a teaspoon of honey. However, A bumblebee, if dropped into an open jar will stay there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.  It will see a way where none exists, until it destroys itself.

In many ways, people are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we need to do is “look up”! That’s the answer, the escape route, and the solution to any problem…just “look up”!  Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but faith looks up.  

Consider some wisdom from Solomon: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take” Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT . “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”  Proverbs 16:9 NLT Solomon’s father, King David, said, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”  Psalm 37:23-24 NLT, and Jeremiah said to a nation that had failed, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11.

When I was a young Christian, about to embark on my theological studies in another country, an old, retired minister who I met at a church camp meeting said to me “Keep Looking up not around. People are human and they will always disappoint you – keep your eyes on the Lord.” Circumstances can overwhelm is, unless we do what Jesus did; In the mid-day midnight of Golgotha he brought God into the darkness.