OCTOBER 12, 2022
ON THE PORCH
CHASING CHICKENS
We have a few hens. Every morning we open the gate, and they race to freedom. After grazing all day, we lock them back up in the coop every evening. Last night I was on the phone with Sierra while rounding the chickens up, and they were not ready to roost yet. Several ran in different directions, instead of straight to the opening. I chased them, all the while getting madder and madder. One particularly stubborn hen decided she was not going to be wrangled and ran entirely opposite of any of the others. I chased her to the coop, then she darted behind the tractor. I ran around the front of the tractor, and she dodged the gate opening again and headed back out into the field. By this time, I was furious. Out of frustration, I yelled at her, “Fine!! Just stay out and get eaten by a coyote tonight!”
Sierra heard metal on metal when I started locking the gate, and I heard a soft plea in my earpiece, “Mom, please don’t!” She is a lover of all things living whether it be people, animals, insects, or critters, and she reminded me that the hen didn’t know better. I wouldn’t have left her outside all night, but I might have let her fret for a little bit, all the while trying to get to the others. I opened the gate a tiny bit to deter all the others from escaping and went after her. She finally joined the rest of the ladies and rooster, and our evening routine was over. Thank goodness!!!
Sierra sighed a breath of relief when I told her the hen was inside the coop and she said, “Boy, that would make a good devo. God only wants the best for us and to keep us safe, and all we want to do is run away and do our own thing.” Out of the mouths of babes, right?
I went out there in sandals, believing it would be a quick and easy task. When I returned to the house, my feet had two marks bleeding where sticks slid up above my sandal bottoms and pierced my skin, and I had to remove several goat heads from my feet. That little pursuit not only cost me mentally but physically, too.
**“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call on My name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—
a people who continually provoke Me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick. Isaiah 63:1-3
Chasing those chickens is a tiny, tiny bit like God pursuing me. Unlike us only attending to the chickens in the morning and evening, God has His hands out all day, saying “Here am I…”
I find myself like that hen with God sometimes. As He holds out His arms, I respond with, “God, not now. I’m ________________.” If I were to fill in the blanks, I might use words like “busy”, “tired”, “having fun,” “worn”, “overwhelmed,” “doing other things,” “going my own way,” “just not in the mood,” “I don’t feel like it,” or maybe even “sure I’ve got this on my own.”
When life is good and all is well, I tend to venture away from God, grazing on my own desires. Yet still, He pursues me. He knows that I am only safe in His arms. Have I mentioned that I can be a little stubborn sometimes? But He is patient, and not once has He said, “Fine! Let the world get you! I’m done chasing!” He doesn’t walk away, HE TRACKS US DOWN…
**“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. Matthew 18:12-14
On my evenings for this chore, I holler at the chickens on my way out, “Time to go to bed ladies.” Benny and I don’t just tuck in the ones who are ready for bed and enter the coop on their own. We look for those who are obstinate and want to stay out a little longer, those who hide. When we find them, we lock the fence. This action keeps the chickens inside the coop, but more importantly, it keeps the predators out. We have plenty of wild animals out here that would love to devour a coop full of chickens. Locking that gate is in the best interest of the hens. Their lives literally depend on it.
**Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. Psalm 139:7-8
God only wants the very best for us. His goal is not to “crash the party.” His purpose is to “be the party” and look out for our best interest. Only inside His will can we truly be safe.
**He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4
LORD, thank You for using this stupid little chicken chase to remind me how You pursue me. Thank You for Your patience and for not giving up on me as quickly as I give up on my quests sometimes. That little hen doesn’t know the dangers of that lurk in our fields, but I do. In the same way, You know what evil I might face if I don’t listen to Your voice. Thank You for always looking out for me, and wanting my best, even when it costs You so dearly. Open my ears to hear Your “Here I am. Here I am,” instead of tuning into my own desires. In all I do today, allow me to bring glory and honor to You. In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.
RECKLESS LOVE
ON THE PORCH 