How does a chick get out of an egg? One peck at a time.
Chicks are confined in tight spots that get tighter all the time. Instinctively, the chick does the one thing it's capable of doing: pecking. With enough persistence, the chick frees itself and steps into a big new world it never imagined possible. One thing I find interesting is no animal or bird I know of that lays eggs pecks the egg to let their young out. Exiting the egg is something the chicks have to do for themselves.
In our lives—and especially our spiritual lives—we often get into tight spots, as the psalmist did. We’re “between a rock and a hard place,” “backed into a corner," or “have our backs against the wall.” Whatever cliche we call it, we've all been there. In most cases, we have to do as the chick and decide we don't like our present accommodations and start pecking.
Escaping our circumstances doesn't take just one little timid peck, but persistent pecking—as if our lives depend on it, because they do. Like those baby birds, if we refuse to peck and improve our situation, we will die captive in our prison—in a situation that had we only pecked a little more we would have survived.
Whatever our situation, we can keep pecking. When we do, we won’t become a casualty by letting circumstances dictate our efforts. Nor will we give in to pessimistic thinking such as, It didn't work last time, so why should I try again?
We can even host our own pity party with an attitude of Nothing I do ever works out right. That kind of thinking results in spiritual death and defeat. We'll become frustrated and quit pecking and die right there. We'll also bring reproach on the Lord because His grace is always sufficient.
Don't die in your hard spot. Keep pecking.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Andy is a published multi-award-winning author with devotions appearing on the Christian Devotions website as well as the CBN website. He is a contributing author in the Starr Ayers/Stephanie Pavlantos book Room at the Table. Currently, he is working on his first novel and is assembling a book of inspirational Scripture-based short stories along with moral, personal, family, and comical stories. Andy is the founder and director of H.O.P.E. Ministries in Candler, NC. While operating primarily as a food ministry, they also provide backpacks, Easter baskets, and Christmas shoebox gifts to crisis pregnancy centers, domestic violence shelters, schools, government agencies, and other ministries. They also provide disaster relief and aid for unwed mothers and their children.