As cautious as a squirrel!

Today I made friends with a squirrel. I don't know if that's what he would consider me, but I think we were both equally entertained by each other. I met my new friend while I was eating lunch in my car. He was in a tree that was about 20 feet in front of me. When I first saw him he was making his way down the tree trunk. At about the same time I noticed him he stopped in his tracks and he stayed in that hold position for quite some time.

I've been doing a study on becoming a woman who listens to God and one of the ways that it says that God can speak to us is through nature. In the past few weeks I've had God speak to me in many ways. He has spoken to me through scripture, prayer, people and circumstances. I have never heard God through nature and was beginning to believe that I would never be able to hear him in this way. The author of the devotional I'm reading always shares these great stories about how God taught her something through nature. I must admit I was a little envious. Why wouldn't God speak to me in this way? One of the other things that I learned in the study was to ask God to help me hear him daily. God is speaking to us all the time, a lot of times, we just aren't listening. So when I saw the squirrel I prayed! God, teach me something through this squirrel!

So I focused on the squirrel for the next 30 minutes and tried to watch his every move, waiting for God to speak to me. I realized that as soon as my eyes met the squirrel's he paused. And he didn't move for quite some time. The only part of him that moved was his tail waving in the wind. After a few minutes he made his way back up the tree. Odd, he was half way down the tree when I spotted him. Why would he go back up? After he made his way back up the tree he just laid in the branches. It was then that I noticed that squirrels have fur that actually camouflages into the tree bark. I figured the squirrel was just resting. As I took my eyes off of him for a few seconds to take another bite of my food the squirrel practically disappeared! He had shifted his body to the other side of the tree. If it weren't for the wind blowing the fur on his tail I probably would have never spotted him. He stayed like this for a while, and eventually turned back towards me. Then he started staring at me! I didn't think he had noticed me since I was a good distance away in my car.

We stared at each other for a while and then he made his way down the tree and into the surrounding grass area below. After a few moments in the grassy area he took off to his next destination. Where he was going, I have no clue. But God spoke to me.

After finishing my lunch I researched squirrels and found out that part of their defense mechanism is their ability to camouflage and the ability to move quickly, like in the blink of an eye. The squirrel knew that he had to move. But he also knew that there were potential dangers (aka me!). So he proceeded with caution. He needed to make sure that he was able to fulfill his mission avoiding harm if possible. He was actually studying me as much as I was studying him. After he concluded that I was no harm to him, he went on his merry way.

Watching this squirrel taught me so much. One of the things I learned was that we need to proceed with caution. The bible says in Ephesians 5:15-16:

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

If we don't make wise moves, we face danger. I also learned that we need to use our defense mechanisms. What are they you ask? It's our growing relationship with God. A growing relationship is key. How do we grow? Spending time in prayer and scripture. Meditating on God's word. Asking God to reveal himself to you in every situation and circumstance.

A lot of times we plan our next move but we forget to keep God in the logistics. God has called me and my husband to move away from our family to help re-plant a church. God has confirmed multiple times to us that this is what we are supposed to do. We have decided to obey God and move in August. Now imagine what would happen if we decided to just pick up and move. Could we face potential dangers along the way? YES! So we must proceed with caution. We must continue to seek God as we plan the details of our move. In the same way, the squirrel knew where he needed to go. But just because he knew what his next move was didn't mean that he just went. He waited, patiently, and used his defense mechanisms to make sure that he was able to make his move safely.

When God calls us he reveals his plan to us step by step (Psalm 119:105). We need to be patient to see what (and when) that next step is. And we need to remember to use our defense mechanisms.

Ephesians 5:1 says:

1Be imitators of God

Jesus had a mission on earth. He was to come to this earth, share God's love, and then be sacrificed so that those who believed would have salvation. Jesus didn't just come to this earth with that "big picture" mission and make his move. He started off every morning by spending time with God in prayer. In the same way, whenever we are about to make a "move", no matter how large or small, we need to remember to keep God in the details. God won't just give you the big picture and expect you to figure out the rest. He'll guide you through the entire way, you just have to open up your ears (and eyes) and listen.

So the next time you are ready to make a move, stop and remember the squirrel. Be wise and proceed with caution.