Thursday, March 1, 2012

Scatter Much?


The other day as I was walking up the the back path to get to the study tent, I saw a mother hen with her baby chicks up ahead of me. Now this is a VERY common sight in Kauai, but for some reason I was just touched by it. As I started to get closer (I had to pass them to get where I was going), they realized I was coming and the baby chicks freaked out. They all split in like four different directions towards the edges of the buffalo grass, and the mother hen began squawking frantically and darting back and forth, not sure which chicks to follow since they all had separated. At first I thought it was kind of funny, but then I started to feel bad so I hurriedly made my way through the little chaotic scene in front of me, and then stopped to look back and see what would happen next. I could hear the baby chicks still crying out, and the mother hen was walking down the middle of the path, poking her head towards the buffalo grass and calling out to her chicks. Whenever she got close to where a baby chick was hiding, the chick rushed out from its hiding place and went back to its mothers side. Finally they were all back together again in a tight huddle, and all was well again. 

As I was pondering this little scene I had just witnessed, the scripture came to mind from Matthew 23:37 (I had to look up the reference later - I'm not yet that brilliant to know these random cool passages off the top of my head) where Jesus laments, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" 

After seeing this little moment with the mother hen, it really just connected with me why Jesus compares himself to a mother hen who would gather her young, because this is such a great picture of love, tender care, and a willingness to lay down a life to protect. When the mother hen was separated from her chicks, she was heartbroken and unable to rest. Immediately she ran around searching for them, and at first I thought she was going to come after me too (but with different intentions)! But anyway, it just makes me think of how heartbroken and unable to rest Jesus was (and still is) over all those who rejected him. He came to love, provide tender care, and he laid down His very life, paying the ultimate price...and still there are those who willingly turn aside and refuse to be gathered. 

This also put in my mind how much the enemy delights in seeing people scattered and scared out of their minds. Those baby chicks just ran in whatever which way they could, and each one ended up alone and unable to defend itself. I could have easily snatched one up if I had had the mind to, and this just shows that when we are alone, running from the One who will care for us and protect us, it puts us in a very vulnerable spot. I know that in my own life, when something threatening or challenging happens, it's so easy to just freak out and react and run...but this is just what the enemy wants me to do. He wants nothing more than for me to be confused, scattered, and alone. But I know that I have a Protector, and I know that He is a safe-haven for all who take refuge in Him. I would much rather gather than scatter! 

PSALM 91 

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High 
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; 
My God, in Him I will trust.” 
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler 
And from the perilous pestilence. 
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, 
And under His wings you shall take refuge; 
His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, 
Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, 
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 
7 A thousand may fall at your side, 
And ten thousand at your right hand; 
But it shall not come near you. 
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, 
And see the reward of the wicked. 
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, 
Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 
10 No evil shall befall you, 
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, 
To keep you in all your ways. 
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, 
Lest you dash your foot against a stone. 
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, 
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; 
I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; 
I will be with him in trouble; 
I will deliver him and honor him. 
16 With long life I will satisfy him, 
And show him My salvation.” 


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