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| Imagine this face crashing into you and vomiting... |
Our family has had issues with birds recently. We have a random bird of prey that likes to circle our house in the afternoons. The kids have named him Aerial Ace (or "cutie" if you ask Reagan as apparently birds who swoop down to kill unsuspecting cuddly animals are cutie-pies.)
Ace is kind of a mascot for our house. However, about a week ago as I was driving to work, a ginormous hideous monster of a bird almost killed me.
Picture the scene:
An unsuspecting high school teacher is driving during the early morning hours when nobody in their right mind would be. As I pass by an empty field, a bird the size of California comes flying out into the road and on a collision course with my truck. In fact, if this beastly bird of terror collided with my truck, he was going to slam into the driver side window. The window was up, but with his size and speed, methinks his nasty face would have burst through the glass and slammed right into me.
I have no idea what kind of bird this thing was. I looked up in a fanciful birds of prey children's book that we have and to my best guess it was a vulture. Have you seen these things? They are the ugliest things this side of Satan. In fact, when I picture what the prince of darkness looks like without his temptation-laced stage make-up on, I picture vultures.
Apparently, had this nefarious bird hit my truck and thrust his homicidal beak in my face, I would have been in quite the predicament. According to the kids' guide to predatory birds, vultures tend to throw up in your face when you "scare" them. All manner of decomposing roadkill would have spilled out upon me as I sat in my workday finest and basked in the horror of a vulture attack.
It would have been the single worst bird terrorist attack since Fabio.
Thankfully, and inexplicably, the vulture somehow pulled up at the last minute and missed my truck.
That takes me to a family dinner from earlier in the week.
We had a rotisserie chicken dinner, as we were running late as usual.
We never serve chicken on bones. It's nasty and caveman-like.
However, on this particular evening my wife decided to put the chicken legs on Reagan and Jackson's plates. Reagan followed in her grandmother's footsteps and devoured hers within seconds.
Jackson, however, stared at the unsavory chicken leg and refused to consume it. When prompted, the ever eloquent Jackson added to his famous lexicon by declaring that he wasn't going to eat that "chicken monster."
Chicken monster. Yum.
Of course, as soon as "chicken monster" was given to his carnivorous sister, Jackson was sad that he couldn't eat it. Re-christened as "mutton" by older brother Noah, the "chicken monster" leg suddenly became irresistible to Jackson.
Where's all this talk of scary predatory birds and chicken monsters going?
Well, the enemy flies around like a predatory chicken monster. And he is hellbent on destroying you. And one of the things he's most effective in using against you is fear.
Reading Psalm 68 earlier today, I was reminded that not only is the Lord our salvation, but He carries our burden daily. Daily.
I was also struck by reading the account of the transfiguration. Chilling atop the mountain with Jesus, Moses and Elijah must have been awesome. When Peter, James and John heard the voice of God, they bowed their heads to the ground in fear.
And yet:
"And lifting up their eyes they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone." Matthew 17:8
Jesus touched them. Fear left them. Their eyes beheld Him. Only Him.
Additionally, 1 Chronicles 11:9 says of David that he "became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him."
His success and victory was not due to his own personal coolness, but rather that "the Lord of hosts was with him."
Life serves us chicken monsters and sends careening vultures toward our truck. And our response to that is the gateway through which our faith bloodstream flows. When we are afraid of chicken monsters, we can turn away choice blessings (and succulent meat?) when we should be chowing down. When the crippling fear of a vulture smacking into your face and vomiting roadkill on you hits, you lose focus. Fear minus focus equals failure. It means a picking up of your daily burdens that are meant to be carried by your much stronger Savior. And that weight holds you back from what God has for you.
And yet, just like Peter walking on the water, if we keep our eyes on Jesus, and push away the fear, God will daily lift our burdens. Philippians 4:19 reminds us that "My God will meet all you needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Those riches are where? In Jesus. Alone.
As I read to my kids today out of the Jesus Calling for Kids Devotional, God is telling us:
God wants to save you from careening birds of prey and open your eyes to choice meat, riches and blessing. He wants to become greater and greater because He is with you. In order to do that, you are going to have to lift up your head, block out the chicken monsters and predatory birds and see Christ alone. And if you do, you'll see Psalm 68, 1 Chronicles 11 and Matthew 17 made manifest in your life!
Embrace chicken monster theology and grow your faith!
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