The Empty Nest!

I know that the title of this Pastor’s Devotion makes most people think that I’m writing about that period of time when one’s grown children move out and leave mom and dad to live alone in their “empty nest.” However, that’s not what I have in mind. Rather, I’m thinking about the robin’s nest that was built in a very odd spot along the side of our house. Instead of building her nest in a bush or a tree, this robin built her nest on top of our electric meter, only a couple feet off the ground. It was a spot that left her nest very much exposed to danger.

When I first came across the nest, it was empty. A day later there were two little blue eggs in the nest.  For the next couple of days, whenever I went near it, the mother bird would fly to a nearby tree and make a racquet, yelling at me in her bird language, trying to chase me away.  And, I would oblige. After all, I wanted to see the babies hatch and see how the mother bird would care for them. At the same time, however, I was quite concerned that she had built her nest in a place that left the eggs and subsequent baby birds exposed to predators.  Sure enough, just a few days later, I went to check on the nest again and rather than see the two eggs or find two baby birds hatched, I found an empty nest.  Apparently some predator had stolen the eggs.

What a strange place for a robin's nest! 

In some ways, I felt badly for the mother bird that continued to hang around the spot for a few more days. After all, she had just lost her two babies. On the other hand, she had not been wise in where she had built her nest and laid her eggs.  She had found an easy spot to build her nest (no going in and out of the branches of a bush or flying up into a tree). But, she had not been careful enough to put her nest in a place that would be safe.  She had not protected her young ones properly from those predators that threatened their lives.  

At times, the Bible likens God to a mother bird very much unlike the mother robin in my backyard. The Psalmist wrote, “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” (Psalm 91:4 – NIV)  We read in the book of Deuteronomy, “He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.” (Deuteronomy 32 10b-11 – NIV)  It’s no wonder Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26 – NIV) 

I want to encourage you today to know that God is watching over your life.   He will not leave you exposed to danger, but He will protect you. He will not foolishly put his children in harm’s way. But, like a wise mother bird who diligently takes care of her young, so God will take care of you. 

Have a great day.

Pastor Tim Harris