Each morning I hear the crowing of our very large, very vocal rooster. He seems to love his job. He is extremely dedicated to it. I often hope that my handful of neighbors have the same love of that sound as I do. To date, none have complained.
He signals each new day with a vigor, which I sometimes lack. To him, one day is as the next. Morning is for crowing and welcoming the dawn, in his case, often for several hours, from just pre-dawn, until mid-morning sometime. He never takes a day off and he never seems to revere one day more than another.
Sometimes when I hear his welcoming of the new day, I welcome it too. Other days, I lie in bed a few moments after awakening and think about the challenges that this day has in store for me. If those challenges are many and/or great, I feel a slight sense of dread, wishing that there were just a few more hours to stay in bed and sleep and not have to deal with the realities that await me.
In the case of the latter, I sometimes think of Peter and that fateful morning when he heard the rooster crow three times. How dreadful that sound must have been for him that day. Talk about wishing there was a place to hide! Pulling the blankets over your head probably never sounded as good as it did that day; and yet, when you think about what Peter learned about himself in that one moment, and the opportunity it presented him to choose to live his life differently from that day forward, it was much more than a mere failure on his part. It was a sign that his Savior, Jesus, was calling him to overcome his fears and his doubts and rise above them, and that was exactly what happened.
I recognize this pattern now in my own life. God frequently causes a rooster to symbolically crow in my life to draw my attention to the particular areas which I need to examine, address and take action in. It is not a means by which to condemn me, but rather a means by which to convict me that a change would be prudent. It is a way to encourage me to continue to draw near to Him, while leaving my own fears and shortcomings behind.
Peter and I, it turns out, have quite a bit in common. The best part of that statement is that one of the things we have in common is our Savior. He’s in the Savior business to “save” us from our old selves.
What about your world? Is a rooster crowing in your life, your mind? Do not be dismayed. It’s only your Savior calling you to victory! Blessings!
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