Our Appointed Destinations

Jeremiah 8:7a – Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. (NIV)

Looking out of the window onto the backyard, I observed the birds filling up on the seeds that were scattered on the late summer grasses.

Their appointed season here in the north was just about up, and the time of their migration was coming soon. Some of these birds were yet small and this was to be their first flight south.

When they were frightened, I noted how much faster they took flight and how much stronger they had become, than when I had observed them before.

I thought of the time when we first became a Christian, how we were stirred by the Holy Spirit to test our wings in flight, and how we stored up the Word of God in our inmost selves, preparing to go out into the world to aid in sharing His Word.

As the seasons passed, we grew stronger, just like the small birds now practicing flying and preparing themselves for the journey that lies ahead. So we do the same, filling up on the Word of God, testing our spiritual strength, and trusting in the Holy Spirit to equip us to do God's work as He guides us to our appointed destinations.

God provides for the birds — which would surely die when their food sources are covered with ice and snow — by giving them an instinct to migrate to a warmer climate, where an abundant new food supply awaits them.

During the winter storms of the soul, we don't always have the pleasure of journeying to a warmer climate, but God gives to us the ability to adapt. He also gives us an abundance of new food for our souls, so that we can even supply others with God's Word, to give them new freedom in Christ, freedom from sin, and a flight to a better life.

Prayer: Gracious Father in heaven, grant us Your grace that we may receive new freedom in Christ. Forgiving us of our sin, You enable us to receive eternal life. Giving thanks, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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