This past Christmas we got a bird box camera and it’s been fascinating to watch from a different perspective. From the nest being built in February, through the nesting period in early spring, to the hatchlings being fed every few minutes as they grow, waiting to take flight and leave the nest in just a couple of weeks. The hatchlings chirp loudly when they sense their parent is near and using all of the strength in their wee bodies, they push themselves upward with their mouths open wide. They trust their parents to fill them with what is good and nutritious even when they don’t see what they are eating.
We read in Exodus 4:11-12, Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
Psalms 81:10 says, “For it was I, the Lord your God who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.”
In our walk with God, we, like baby birds, are commanded to trust Him to provide for us, to fill us daily. In my own life, He has certainly proven Himself to be continually faithful and dependable. When we are out and about in our communities and workplaces we are called by Him to open our mouths, trusting that when we put ourselves in a position of availability and obedience to be used by Him that He will give us what we need in that specific moment. And this calling isn’t limited to those who are ordained and in full time paid ministry, it’s for all followers of Jesus. In that place of vulnerability and stepping into unknown territory, we are fully dependent on God, yielding to Him, fully relying on Him to fill us and work through us by the Holy Spirit. We become a vessel willing to be used by Him, for His glory.
In seasons of hopelessness and despair, those around us need believers who are fully and completely surrendered to Him and are filled and led by the Holy Spirit. They need more than worldly encouragement and advice, more than what motivational talks, advice columns and horoscopes can give, they’re needing God’s divine wisdom, knowledge, comfort and encounter to get to the heart of the matter. That’s when people experience the true power of God in their lives, and when families and communities are uplifted and transformed.
Will you willingly open your mouth to be used and filled by Him?
Father, I surrender my will and my ways fully to You. Trusting that You will lead me by Your Holy Spirit and fill my mouth to speak Your words. Father, I pray that others too throughout Ireland will rise up, and allow You to speak through them. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.