Learning Sabbath from the Birds

As Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens are telling of the glory of GOD; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” I love to watch eagles soar on thermals in Genesee Valley. They are so big on the ground and almost awkward before they become airborne. But then they lift their mighty wings, and with a clear call rise from the ground. The other morning as I walked one of my favorite trails I heard the cry of a golden eagle. The clear “kee-kee-kee” got my attention and so I was blessed to watch two of these magnificent birds rise on the thermals in our valley to great heights above. They rose on the rising thermals until they were but two black spots in the blue sky above. But without the rising wind currents and the slow beat of their wings these two birds would never have soared to “heights unknown.” It reminded me of something I had read by Francis De Sales in speaking of our need to refresh ourselves in God’s presence.
He wrote: “If birds stop beating their wings, they quickly fall to the ground. Unless your soul works at holding itself up, your flesh will drag it down. Therefore, you must renew your determination regularly. Oddly, a spiritual crash leaves us lower than when we began. Clocks need regular winding, cleaning, and oiling. Sometimes they need repair. Similarly, we must care for our spiritual life by examining and servicing our hearts at least annually. Early Christians ordinarily took a spiritual inventory and renewed their vows on the date our Lord’s baptism. It would be good if we did the same.”*
As pastors and missionaries we often believe that our work, our ministry is all based on what we do. We pour our life into programs and people bringing God’s word to the world. But we forget that even though we need to flap our wings, without the wind and thermals around us we, like the eagles, would never soar to greater heights.
As De Sales reminds us we need to be constantly attending to our spiritual lives to remain healthy and growing so that we can soar on the wind of God’s Spirit to greater heights. As we use the various spiritual disciplines that have informed the church through the ages they act like the thermals in the valley. These disciplines and practices become the wind beneath our wings to lift us into the very presence of God.
One way we can retain that health is through regular spiritual inventories of our lives and ministries. These inventories are simply stopping, taking a Sabbath rest, and sitting before God asking a very simple question. Psalm 139:23,24 states it clearly, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”As you go about your duties this next week take time to pause, consider your life and open your wings to the rising thermals of God’s Spirit.

* From Authentic Devotion: A modern Interpretation by Bernard Bangley; Introduction to the Devout Life by Francis De Sales. Pub. Shaw Book, Waterbrook Press Copyright 2003. pg 105