February 17, 2024 7:00 pm
Soren Solkaer spent years photographing starlings and their breathtaking spectacle: murmurations, where hundreds of thousands of starlings move in fluid motion across the sky. Watching this marvel is like sitting underneath an orchestrated, swirling wave or a massive, dark brushstroke flowing into a kaleidoscope of patterns. In Denmark, they call this starling experience Black Sun (also the title of Solkaer’s stunning book of photographs). Most remarkable is how starlings instinctively follow their nearest companion, flying so close that if one were to miss a beat, they’d suffer mass calamity. However, starlings use murmurations to protect one another. When a hawk descends, these tiny creatures enter tight formation and move collectively, beating back a predator who’d easily pick them off if they were alone.
We’re better together than we are alone. “Two are better than one,” Ecclesiastes says. “If either . . . falls down, one can help the other up. [And] if two lie down together, they will keep warm” (4:9–11). Alone, we’re isolated and easy prey. We’re exposed without others’ comfort or protection.
But with companions, we give and receive help. “Though one may be overpowered,” Ecclesiastes says, “two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (v.12). We’re better together as God leads us.
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Hello, I'm Xochitl Dixon. Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread, In God's Loving Hands. After another health setback, I feared the unknown and uncontrollable. One day, while reading a Forbes magazine article, I learned that scientists studied the rising of the Earth's rotation velocity and declared that the Earth wobbled and is spinning faster.
They said we could require the first ever drop second, the official removal of a second from global time. Though a second doesn't seem like much of a loss, knowing that the Earth's rotation could change seemed like a big deal to me. Even slight instability can make my faith feel wobbly. However, knowing God is in control helps me to trust Him no matter how scary our unknowns or how shaky our circumstances may seem. In Psalm 90, Moses said, before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Acknowledging God's unlimited power, control and authority over all creation, Moses declared that time cannot constrain God. As we seek to know more about God and the wonderful world He made, we'll discover how He continues perfectly managing time and all He created. God can be trusted with every unknown and newly discovered thing in our lives too. All creation remains secure in God's loving hands.
Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Psalm 90 verses 1 to 6. Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. You turn people back to dust saying, return to dust, you mortals. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by or like a watch in the night. Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death. They are like the new grass of the morning.
In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered. Let's pray. Unchanging creator, maker of time, sustainer of all, thank you for securing every second of our lives in your trustworthy hands. We are yours. Do what you will. In Jesus name we pray, amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-02-17 20:46:06 / 2024-02-17 20:47:31 / 1
