Jeremiah 8:7 (BSB)
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the Lord.
One of the most interesting sights occurring in Palestine is the migration of the stork; every year, like clockwork, the return of this magnificent creature happens in March, and it leaves somewhere around April or March for Europe. This bird is able to soar with much freedom to great heights in the heavens; yet, with all the freedom that it has, it remains true to the laws of nature and its instincts.
The turtledove, the crane and the swallow are not able to think or reason, yet they are able to feel the wind and obey their instinct, which governs their actions during the change of seasons.
Are you in tune with the seasons of your life, or are you ignoring the signs of the times? As humans, we are thinking creatures and are able to discern, with resolve and wisdom, the events that occur in our lives, and yet it seems that we are forever experiencing the consequences of bad decisions because we refuse to accept the lessons that previous undertakings have taught us. We have great freedom in the things we decide for our lives, but with that freedom should come restraint, insight and foresight.
The restraint is to keep us from the things that may be appealing but can do us harm; the insight is to direct us with clarity to those things that can give us great benefit, and the foresight is to be able to see where the decisions we make now will land us later. While we cannot see the future and cannot plan for the accidents and tragedies of life, we can set a course for ourselves, which leads us to the best possible outcomes. We are intelligent beings and can do what we want with our minds, bodies and soul, yet we would be wise to learn from the animals that are driven by instinct and have much freedom but do not deviate from the laws.
