Published by admin on 30 Nov 2018 at 06:00 am
A BIRD IN HAND
There’s an old saying, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, which I’ve heard from childhood. And yes, I was young once, believe it or not. Anyway, that saying popped up in my mind a while ago, so that’s what I’ll write about today.
It’s hard to be thankful for what you have when you’re already wanting something else. That’s like being married, and instead of being thankful for the faithful forty year old mate you have, you’re wanting to trade in your forty year-old for two twenty year-olds. Some people are just never satisfied, and they’re always looking for the next new thing. Let me tell you something; new is NOT always better.
Being it’s still “Thanksgiving” season, I’d like to remind you again to be thankful for all the wonderful things the LORD has blessed you with. As long as you remain in “thanksgiving” mode, there is no end to God’s blessings. It’s when you stop being thankful for all He has done, that the blessings stop. Sort of like a sink; as long as the drain is open, you can keep pouring water into it. But if you stop up the drain, before long the sink is full and it cannot hold any more water. Blessings are like that, and they are made to be shared with others, not just hogged for yourself. Being a blessing to others keeps the drain open so the LORD can keep adding more.
If you notice, the sink opening is larger than the drain opening, meaning that if you let some out, there’s always room for more. God isn’t expecting you to give all your blessings away, there will be plenty for you as long as you’re willing to pass some along to others. I like this verse in Proverbs 13:7, There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
You never see a river which is flowing constantly which is green with algae. But stagnant water turns stinky and green. And a person who gives, never seems to run out. There are those who accumulate and keep stuff for themselves, and it just goes to rot and never blesses anyone. God’s system is set up to be always on the move, even the planets in space are not stationary, they are moving. If you find your life to be stagnant, it’s because you aren’t moving with God. Going back to the saying, “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush”, some are happy to keep the bird in hand, but to have the two in the bush, you must turn loose of the one in your hand, so both hands are free to reach for the two in the bush. There’s a lesson in this, though.
Keep in mind, however, the two in the bush may not be better than the one in your hand, in which case you’d better be satisfied with the one you have. Meaning? Are you thankful for what you DO have? If not, God cannot move you on to better things. It seems the gears in heaven are greased by being thankful.
But there’s another side to this coin, which brings me to this: perhaps you’ve been “stationary” for quite some time, wondering when God is going to “move you up”. Are you thankful to Him each day for all He has already done for you? Now here is another thing to consider: suppose you’re holding onto that “bird in the hand”, and are afraid to turn it loose in order to grab the two in the bush. You’re “safe” with one in hand, but you’re afraid to turn it loose because there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to lay hold of both the birds in the bush, thereby ending up with ‘nothing’. It is written in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. Fear does more to keep people out of the blessings of God than anything else I can think of. Remember when Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan, and only two came back with a good report? Let’s read about it here in Numbers 13:17-33,
17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
18 And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
21 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
24 The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Do you know what the Israelites were afraid of? It was the GRASSHOPPERS! They saw themselves as grasshoppers.
Caleb said, Let us go up at once, and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it! There was a man who was NOT afraid to turn loose of the bird in his hand to take the two in the bush! And God blessed him for it, too. But boy, the opposition he faced for that! Now I’m not telling you to just jump at every “two in the bush” that you see, because that’s just plain stupid. But if the LORD is telling you to go possess your blessing, stop looking in your hand and seeing the bird there, and being afraid to turn loose of it! You will NEVER be able to move into your “promised land” like that.
Some of you have held onto that bird for so long, it’s dead and rotting away in your hand, and God has told you time and time again to go take your blessing, but fear has stopped you cold in your tracks. Let me give you some advice: pray about it! And then do what He says. Oh my, has it come to THAT? Yes, it has. That is unless you’re forevermore satisfied with the bird in your hand. As for me, I’ve seen the goodness of the LORD, and He’s always moving me up, because I’m willing to turn loose of the bird in my hand for the two in the bush. How about YOU?