BY JACK WARD
A lady named Carol has a pet finch named Coffee, who runs into a serious problem once in a while. Her claws grow so long that she loses the ability to control them. They get stuck in the nest and she cannot get them out. Once Carol found her nearly dead, hanging for hours upside down with one claw ensnared in her wicker home. She rescued and nursed Coffee back to health.
Carol decided Coffee needed regular claw clipping so this would not happen again. She reached into the door and tried to catch Coffee while the bird desperately scrambled to the eight corners of the cage to escape capture. Once Carol gripped her gently in her palm, the bird’s heart raced in a panic and she attempted to peck at Carol’s hand to free herself.
Carol held her steady, clipped her nails, and released Coffee back into the safety of the cage, where she gleefully flew for months without getting ensnared.
But when the nails grow back, she has to repeat the procedure, and each time Coffee has panic, pecking and distrust.
Carol feels sad when the bird distrusts her. Charlie, Coffee’s nest mate, seems to enjoy being held and stroked, simply receiving the care for what it is as we clip his nails.
Are we not more like Coffee when God gets us in his grip? We fret and resist and, at times, turn hostile toward him as he holds us tightly and gives us a trim. Do we not all wish we were more like Charlie, trusting the Master’s gentile hand?
Are you afraid to be in God’s hand when He has to give you a trim?
Sometimes God takes us out of our comfort zone to do a little work on us to save us great trouble down the road. But we do not like it and we fight and struggle with it. We get mad at God because not everything in life is like WE want it. So we quit reading the Bible, we quit going to church and we quit hanging around Christians. We stay at home and pout; sometimes this goes on for years.
Remember Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” This passage says that we KNOW that all things work together.
Charlie the other bird loved being in the hand of his master. He knew that nail trimming was necessary and was going to make things better for him in the long run. So rather than getting mad and fighting, he enjoyed the closeness with his master.
Let this be a lesson for us. Life is dangerous. God has to give us a trim every now and then, which is not pleasant, but necessary for our good and for His glory.
Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on 98.9 WSIP FM. Check out the Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church Facebook page and our website at tomahawkmbc.com.