I Want to Be Like a Pelican

Why in the world would I want to be like a pelican?

I mean, look at the picture below - they are certainly interesting parts of God's creation, and I admire how they are made, but why would I want to be LIKE one?

My desire to be like one came about this summer.  We went to the beach for a week in June for vacation.  It was a nice time of relaxing on the beach and observing all around me.  One of those days we were there, I noticed a fishing boat in the distance.  Unfortunately, I did not have the correct lens on my camera for you to see what my eye could see - but you "get the picture" below:

Here were tons and tons of gulls hovering around a fishing boat hoping to get some quick bites of food.  Try your best to see them all around the boat..... 

I then began to observe the pelicans nearby.  They were more to themselves and were on the prowl searching for food.  I was able to get a little better shot of them, but still not great.  They hovered over the water, constantly searching until they found a "prize" and dove right in the water to their reward!

I sat on the beach and began "chewing" on what I was seeing.  I even began to have a conversation with my kids about what we were seeing. 

And I have been "chewing" ever since.

I realize I was only observing partial behaviors of these animals, but the scene before me showed a valuable spiritual truth we all can apply to our lives.

Hence, why I want to be like a pelican.

Stay with me....

The gulls:
The gulls I observed wanted to get food more easily.   They hung around the fishing boat where they knew the food was going to be readily available.  (We also had some hanging near us on the beach hoping for a handout!!)  There were TONS of them flocking around the boat. 

It reminded me of spiritually how we want to be quickly "fed" without the work. 

• We put a little time into going to church - and some do not even do that in our society today.
• We might watch a pastor on TV or the internet.
• We might read a devotion or two.

But we are just flying around waiting for someone else to feed us.  And then we wonder where God is when hard times come.... we do not understand why we are not getting the help we need.  We do not understand why we are weak.

The pelicans:
The pelicans I observed were the opposite.  I am sure sometimes they were around the boat as well, hoping to get an easy catch, but the ones I watched were by themselves and constantly flying low over the waters to see where they might find some food.

Then, they dove for it.

And they were rewarded with a big piece of fish.

It reminded me of what I need to be as a Christian.  While I NEED church, hearing pastors, and reading devotions,  in order to truly be FED, I must become like a pelican.   

I need to be hovering over the Living Water of the Word, seeking to be fed from the Scriptures. I then will be rewarded with spiritual "fish" that I would never have received by waiting for a quick treat by a boat.

• I must desire to be in God's Word daily.
• I must desire to be in His house often.
• I must desire to SEEK Him.

The Lord always seems to cause certain words to stick with me at different stages of my life.  Recently in the year He gave me the word HOPE.  After this observation at the beach, He has given me the word SEEK.

In my Bible study and Bible reading this summer I have come across that word often. 

I began to look it up on Bible Gateway to see how many times it is in Scripture.  In the KJV it is there 291 times.  

As I have studied the captivity of the Israelites in Hosea, I noticed that the reason trouble came so much to them was because they were not seeking God - they were seeking other temporary things that they thought would fulfill them or make things better.

In order to be found, one must SEEK. 

Remember the game we played as a child - Hide and Seek?  Only God is not hiding - He just wants us to SEEK Him.

Many people love Jeremiah 29:11.  It is a well-known verse and holds great promises:

   

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Many people like to quote that verse - and I have done the same - but sometimes we take it out of context. 

A few years ago, the Lord drew me to this verse when I was struggling with a lot of things.  He showed me this verse, which was a comfort, but He also drew my eyes downward to continue to read the full context of the passage.  This is what I found in the following verses of 12 and 13:

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

  

The Lord has been teaching me that so many people stop at Jeremiah 29:11 and then get upset with God when life isn't peaceful and things do not turn out the way they wanted.  

I was once one of those people.

Do you see the conditions God set up in order to reach that expected end?   

  

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

We must go to work studying the Scriptures - really studying them in order to know God and be fed. 

We must seek Him.

So, just like the pelicans who I observed that were alone, seeking food in the water, and diving down to claim their reward, so do I want to seek food from God's Word by diving in and receiving the spiritual food I need in order to grow stronger in Him.  

And I must do that daily.

Anyone else want to be like a pelican with me?