God speaks to me in many ways but one in particular is through nature. When I see a cardinal – it is a reminder for me to either pray or praise. God has been sending me these cardinals for a few years now. Sometimes I will know exactly what I am praying for or praising for and other times I think it’s just to see if I’ll be obedient and stop what I’m doing to focus on Him. Recently, a new bird has been added to the mix. A mockingbird; specifically a northern mockingbird. The mockingbird stands for numerous things between me and Lord but one of them is to sing praises to Him. This morning on the way to work I was having an in-depth conversation with someone on the phone. A little confused regarding some things the Lord had spoken to me recently and not really understanding the big picture; however, God knows all things and is in control of my life. Therefore, even when I don’t fully understand, I must remain obedient and He will guide me to where I’m supposed to be. It’s like being on a treasure hunt – you know there is a fabulous prize at the end – but you are only getting one clue at a time to get there. Joshua felt the same way in the book of Joshua. God gave him one command at a time. Even though he didn’t see a big picture he was faithful to do the things God instructed and it ended with a great fall of the walls of Jericho. The same applies for us.
My phone call ended as I was pulling into work. On a trash can sat a mockingbird just looking at me. As I slowly drove by he moved his direction to still be looking at me. God was reminding me to sing praises to Him regardless of what I understand and I what I don’t. If I try to arrange my life I’m going to make a mess of it. I’m the first to admit I don’t understand a lot of what He has spoken to me recently in the sense of “why?”… why have you told me to do these things or not do these things? I’m also the first to admit I like seeing big pictures. Even in school – I learned better if you gave me an overall view and then taught me specifically about each section. But I will be like Joshua and take one step of faith at a time. Then! I will see the big picture and I will look back and see He grew me both spiritually and as a person through all those little steps. A bunch of little steps are also not as intimidating. (Think about when you lose weight. Losing 50 lbs is hard to swallow, but 2 lb/week is easy to deal with!) I need to be able to follow Him in complete obedience without a reward at the end. I should do it simply “just because” I love Him and choose to follow Him all the way.
Confession Letters 