By Lois Evans
Some friends of ours like to feed the birds when they go to the beach. On one occasion, they tell us, a large flock of birds gathered to receive the food the couple had brought; the birds ate and then left. Our friends went back to their beach chairs to relax then later got up to feed the birds again. And again, the birds returned for food, ate what they wanted, and left.
But in between the feedings, our friends noticed that one little bird remained behind when the others left. They gave this little one more food. And the more food they gave him, the closer he stayed to them. This went on all day. Every time they turned around, they saw this little bird waiting patiently for more food. And they did not disappoint him.
What a wonderful picture of the hunger we should have for God! The psalmist used the imagery of a timid, thirsty animal to depict the intensity of desire we should have for God: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God” (Ps. 42:1). James said if we will draw near to God, He will draw near to us.
When we draw near to God He satisfies our thirst with the water of life and feeds us with the living bread. When that begins to happen in our lives, people will begin to wonder how we can have so much peace, joy, and contentment in our hearts.
The answer will be that we have learned to stay close to God.
