As I was going through my DAILY BREAD devotional book for this quarter I ran across this article by Adam R. Holz. At this time of year, we think and talk a lot about turkeys. I was particularly intrigued by the definition of a group of turkeys—a “rafter” of turkeys. I had heard of a gaggle of geese, a herd of cows, and a litter of pups, but the only rafter I knew anything about was intended to support a rooftop. It is always good to learn something new! Adam Holz begins his article with this question:
Do you know what a group of turkeys is called? It’s called a rafter. Why am I writing about turkeys? Because I’ve just returned from a weekend at a mountain cabin. Each day, I marveled at the train of turkeys parading past our porch.
I’d never turkey-watched before. They scratched fiercely with spectacular talons. Then they hunted and pecked at the ground. Eating, I assume. (Since this was my first turkey-observation time, I wasn’t 100 percent positive.). The scrawny shrubs in the area didn’t look like they could sustain anything. Yet here were these turkeys, a dozen of them, all of which looked delectably plump.
Watching those well-fed turkeys brought to mind Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Jesus uses God’s provision for seemingly worthless birds to remind us of His care for us. If a bird’s life matters, how much more does ours? Jesus then contrasts fretting about our daily needs (Matthew 6:27-31) with a life in which we “seek first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness” (verse 33), one in which we’re confident of His rich provision for our needs. Because if God can care for that rafter of wild turkeys, He can certainly look after you and me.
This message reminds me of how often we spend too much time worrying about things that God is willing and able to handle for us. We tend to forget what an awesome God we serve and just how He cares for us. Perhaps we ought to try asking God for help sooner than later when we are wrestling with challenging situations. Unlike our phone lines, he is always available—unlimited minutes!
Jean Glosson
