Driving along a country road, my friend rounded the corner and immediately pressed on the brake. He had noticed a bird just ahead of us, standing in the middle of the road. It was a short distance off, but right in our path.
Expecting the bird to move, we continued to head towards it slowly, but when it finally noticed us, its reaction was not what we expected...
It tried to run away!
As we rode along behind the bird, which was increasingly panicking, running as fast as its legs would carry it, we wondered how long it would be before it realised. Then, at last, it was as if the penny dropped, and it remembered it had a greater power available to it than just the speed of its running.
It had wings!
As the bird finally soared off safely into the sky, my friend remarked, "Why do things with feet and wings try to use the feet first?"
Good question! But I have to be honest- sometimes I can be just like that bird. Maybe you can relate too.
A difficult circumstance arises, and I try to work my way out of it. I worry, I plan, I think, I question. In my panic, I work frantically, trying to sort everything out, trying to make it right, trying to fix it by myself, thinking that it all depends on me - all the time forgetting the fact that I have a much greater power at my disposal.
I have God's power - "the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead." (Ephesians 3:19-20 NLT)
I have the Holy Spirit - a Spirit of "power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)
We were not made to battle on in our own strength, but to turn to Him and soar in His power.