In May, I had some correspondence with one of the contributors to these PresbyCan Daily Devotionals, in which we commented on the fact that our small pets or animals can fall prey to a predator at any time. This made me think of the time when I raised homing pigeons. I had a nice flock of good birds, and I spent many enjoyable hours looking at and after them. However, there was one constant threat: the presence of hawks. They can quite easily catch a pigeon in flight, by surprise.

One afternoon, I was sitting on the back deck behind the house watching as my pigeons were flying overhead, back and forth, sometimes landing on the loft and then taking off again. Suddenly, out of a clear blue sky, high above the pigeons, a hawk streaked down and grabbed one of my nicest and best birds. The hawk tried to fly off with him, but the bird was too heavy, and the two of them crashed down to the ground, not far from the house. I ran over, hollered, yelled, and waved my arms, and finally, the hawk let go of the badly injured pigeon and took off. I took the bird to the loft, treated it as best I could, and it survived.

A disaster of some kind can come upon anyone at any time, quite often out of a clear blue sky. We have all experienced a matter of concern at some point in our lives, I’m sure, and sometimes suddenly. It might be a personal illness, the death of a loved one, or the loss of employment. The sudden arrival and persistent continuation of the coronavirus, and how it has affected our lives, is a case in point. We did not see it coming, and in most cases, it has greatly upset our personal lives and the life of our churches.

Even when these things happen to us, we can cope when we “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV)

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we pray for all those people who are suddenly confronted with situations which are devastating for their personal lives. We pray that You will be with them in their time of need. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright © 2021, by Joel Jongkind <austria67@bmts.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Meaford, Ontario, Canada