HUMMINGBIRD FRENZY

WINSDAY WISDOM 215

This Winsday Wisdom begins with an observation about hummingbirds. Do you know why they are called hummingbirds? Because they do not know the words to the song (drum rim shot–‘ba-ba-boom’).

It was a cool summer morning in the Colorado mountains. The gorgeous sunrise unveiling the beautiful countryside revealed the residue of the nighttime’s fine mist.

A beautiful hummingbird flew by the window and began to hover over the feeder. There is something special about seeing a hummingbird zipping through the sky or hovering in place.

Hummingbirds can fly in all directions, including backward, forwards, and even upside down. They are the only vertebrae capable of hovering for extended periods of time while in flight.

Although tiny birds, hummingbirds can fly over 60 miles per hour and flap their wings 53 to 70 beats per second. That is fast. They also have the potential to fly nonstop for nearly 1200 miles. That is stamina.

I stood there mesmerized as I watched the grandeur of God’s creation. So small. So fast. So versatile. So…mean! What?

Yes, this hummingbird was mean. He had all the sweet nectar his little body could contain, but the abundant supply was not to be shared with others. Three other hummingbirds attempted to get a drink of the bright red mixture. Pure sweetness.

Pure sweetness would describe the liquid in the feeder dish. It could not be used as a descriptive characteristic of this specific hummingbird. He attacked each incoming bird as if it were the D-Day Normandy Beach Invasion.

The little Nazi-bird with his big ego aggressively fought off each bird, once taking on two in one dive-bombing swoop.

Apparently (based on a little Google research), it is not uncommon for some male hummingbirds to be very territorial. They sometimes claim one feeder as their own and aggressively defend their sole possession of the nectar enjoyment.

I watched in amazement as this hummingbird protected his supply chain from all challengers during a span of thirty minutes. Obviously, I did not have a lot going on that day.

I felt sorry for the other birds seeking some nourishment. They were persistent. While the boss bird chased away a potential drinker, another one would seek to sneak a sip.

There was plenty for all four hummingbirds and many more, but only one tasted the prize. I tried to show him there was an abundance to share. Unconvinced and unafraid, he acted as if I were an intruder on his mountaintop oasis.

I tried to knock him away with a broom. He was too fast. He mocked me as if this were Muhammed Ali toying around with George Foreman. He dipped and ducked, flapped and flittered. He used his wings to pretend he was a helicopter, then a dive bomber, then a stealth jet.

I reached for the feeder, and he attacked me. I might have lost that day, but I lived to write about this bully hummingbird. They are not all as cute and sweet as the nectar they drink.

Why would a hummingbird not share the abundance of supply with others in need?

Sometimes I am too much like this selfish hummingbird. I think only of myself. Even some of my good deeds are like a hummingbird’s flight. They disappear very quickly. I also seem to share the same attention span of the hummingbird. It is measured in micro-seconds.

When my kids were just little children, my daughter asked her younger brother for some of his M&M’s. When he refused, she reminded him that God said we are supposed to share.

Kyle responded with, “Well, He never told me.”

Do you ever act as if God never told you to share?

God told each of us to be unselfish and considerate of others, to be kind and giving.

I learned one of the basic principles about life many years ago regarding God’s generosity.

WHEN GOD BLESSES SOMEONE ELSE, IT NEVER MEANS FEWER BLESSINGS FOR ME.

Think about that again. It is true. The sweet nectar of God’s goodness never runs out. We do not have to fight for our taste of His goodness and then protect it from anyone in need.

Though this is true, it is difficult to practice because we all feel as though we have been bypassed by the latest showers of blessings. We resent others. They don’t deserve that blessing; they don’t need it as much as I do.

Can we rejoice in the blessings of others? Yes, by faith in the promises of our God. It never means fewer blessings for me. It might mean different blessings when there is only one scoop of chocolate ice cream left and it goes to the grandchild. But the dessert buffet always comes back around in some other time and dimension.

I confess that when it comes to sharing, too often my actions look more like that of the possessive hummingbird. I hover over the decision like some prima donna hummingbird craving his next sip of the red stuff.

Do you ever question or second-guess the godly impulse to share? Do you act like the bad boy hummingbird?

Being a lover of self is a characteristic of worldly people. Others can see how God has blessed us, but sometimes we live in fear of losing our things or losing our spot in line.

Sharing is not a normal lifestyle. Yet, it is the essence of God’s glory to share His goodness with us. And in the coming ages, God will show us the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness to us (#1Textbook).

Immeasurable. Unlimited. Unending. Goodness galore.

God shares with us so we will point others to the feeder of infinite pleasure. Do not continue to live in the whirl and blur of worry and anxiety over what you have or do not have.

Consider the birds in the air. They do not sow seeds or harvest or work, but they never go hungry. There is always another source of nectar in abundance. God takes even better care of you.

Do you remember the Biblical story of the widow from Sarepta (Zarephath)? The prophet Elijah was unsafe in Israel. The people had turned away from God. They threatened to kill God’s spokesman.

Elijah sought refuge in a strange place. The providence of God led him to the heathen land of Sarepta, the home base of his most powerful critic, the evil Queen Jezebel. She placed a price on the prophet’s head.

Elijah was a man on the run. He found a hiding place in the home of a starving widow and her little boy. Famine struck and the impoverished woman did not know where the next meal could come from to keep the two of them alive.

When Elijah met the widow, she was gathering sticks for a fire to cook the last meal for her and her son. Then they would hold each other until they died. They were out of food and out of hope.

Elijah asked her for a drink of water and a bite of bread. What did she do? Did she chase him away? Did she ask him for a handout? No, the widow offered shelter and food for God’s prophet.

Elijah told the widow to continue her last meal endeavor, promising her that there would be enough for all three of them to share.

Faith is the evidence of things not yet seen, the substance of things for which we hope (#1 Textbook).

The widow served Elijah first. Amazingly, there was plenty for her and her son. This was not the last meal from the minutia of cooking ingredients. The same amount was miraculously available for each meal for the next two years!

“Little is much if God is in it.”

Can you imagine the amazement as she checked her pantry which had just been emptied for their last meal? Can you share in that same hope?

The widow from Sarepta and her son were dying from starvation when God used her to rescue and revive Elijah.

The barrel of cornmeal never diminished, and the small jar of cooking oil never failed. They lasted until the rains came and the famine ended…just as the Word of God stated.

What did God prove with this story of the widow’s last meal?

“I know the Word of God is truth.”

Sharing never impoverishes your life. It only enriches it. You never end up with less. Always more. That is God’s law of sharing.

God multiplied the substance of the widow’s last meal just as Jesus did with the five loaves of bread and two fish from the little boy’s basket. He shared it with God, and it fed a multitude of thousands. They ended up with more baskets of food than they started with.

Sharing is never forgotten by our Lord. Hundreds of years later, Jesus stood one day and praised the widow of Sarepta (Luke 4:26). God used her as an example of how God shares His grace to those in need. God’s goodness never runs out.

Dearly beloved, surely, God will take care of you…until the heavenly showers wash away every need.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Let brotherly love continue.

Let all that you do be done in love.

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another.

As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

It is far better to give than to receive.

Love is patient and kind; love is never selfish.

Put away all selfishness, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

God has told you to share. Do it with joy. Do it with faith. Do it with hope. Do it with love.

EVEN WHEN YOU SHARE A FEW OF YOUR M&Ms, IT IS REMEMBERED IN HEAVEN FOREVER AND RETURNED WITH IMMEASURABLE BLESSINGS WHICH CAN NEVER BE EXHAUSTED!

And learn the words to the song…Your humming is annoying! (drum rim shot)