“What’s that awful noise?!?” Peering down the street I saw a woodpecker pecking its heart out on a metal chimney cover. Yikes!
Annoyed but not too worried, I figured he’d soon realize the futility of his fruitless folly, and move on to a more satisfying cuisine.
Oops…I was wrong. This bird was very determined! Not sure what the payoff was, but he stuck with it for a long time.
The next day on my walk, there he was again — pecking away more fervently than ever. Not only that, but he had a buddy doubling up on the effort – and noise! (Maybe having a partner made it easier to convince himself it was the right way.)
Scratching my head, I was baffled. My initial amusement soon turned to sadness. My heart felt heavy. Don’t they know they’re not going to get any food from that metal cap? And how long will they keep trying until they realize it? Or will they just peck harder?
Then I started thinking about us as humans. Wonder what the birds think when they observe people pouring all we have into something that will never permanently satisfy our deepest needs. And yet we just keep pecking and pecking.
I’m guessing there must be some kind of immediate payoff, but even that is temporary at best.
My heart grieves for the prostitute on the corner, the addict, the compulsive spender deeply in debt, and the one looking for love in all the wrong places. But perhaps even more for the person who looks fine on the outside, but has chosen to fill the emptiness with anything other than GOD.
Not sure where I’d be today if it weren’t for the grace of God through Jesus. I, too, was searching for deep and lasting soul satisfaction in so many dead-ends.
A well known quote rings true:
“The only One who can satisfy the human heart is the One Who made it.”
💜
Oh how I wish I could tell that hungry woodpecker there’s a lush forest nearby that would satisfy him beyond his wildest dreams!
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“He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.”
(Psalm 107:9)
💜
