Are Buzzards Circling?

God created buzzards to consume dead things. If you have ever seen them circling in the sky, you know something is dead or dying below them. Death is a part of life, right? Right.

A couple of years ago, a flock of Canada geese landed in a farm field a few yards from our home. I noticed one goose appeared to be injured.  I watched from afar for a couple of days. One goose stayed with the injured goose. It never went far. Since Canada geese mate for life, I can only assume it was the injured goose’s mate.

I was concerned. I sent emails and left voice mails hoping someone could rescue this injured bird. No one got back to me. Eventually even the mate was gone.

Then I saw them, the buzzards. It began with one and all too quickly a dozen had converged on the very spot where I had last seen the injured Canada goose.

Buzzards are large and, let’s be honest, they are ugly. My first encounter was on a country road. We came over a hill and right before us were two of these big birds feasting on road kill. My husband slammed on the brakes. They didn’t move quickly. We got a look that spoke “Hey, we’re eating here!”  Eventually they lifted up on their mighty wings to let us pass. That was as close as I ever wanted to get to buzzards. They give me the creeps.

The gathering of these birds so close to our home made me uneasy. That uneasiness grew when they began to perch in the trees around our house: the one hundred year old silver maple, the black walnuts, the pines.  I felt a darkness descend.

Buzzards are unclean birds. In the spirit realm, they represent evil. At the time, I didn’t have my current understanding of the spirit realm or the authority I have in Christ.  Did I ask God what their presence meant? No. Did I command them to leave in the name of Jesus? No. I’d step outside waving my arms and yelling but it merely caused them to fly off only to return moments later. I began to accept their presence despite the sense of unease it brought, despite the death they represented.

That’s been an issue for me, accepting things as simply the realities of life. In the past, I’ve come into agreement with words that have been spoken over me, illness that has afflicted me, as well as situations and relationships that brought only pain.

I just didn’t know my authority to change the atmosphere around me. I found it difficult to accept all the things God had said about me, they were contrary to much of what I had known and experienced. I didn’t see myself as Jesus’ friend. He was mine but I didn’t see myself as His. I couldn’t recognize the enemy’s hand in my physical pain and the inevitable derailing it brought.

I agreed with things that brought death, death to my God-given purpose and death to my dreams. But I also recognized there were plenty of things that needed to die in my life so I could walk into the plans and purposes God has for me.

It was imperative that certain mind sets had to die. Depending on people and things for my happiness had to die. Self-reliance had to die.

Sure, there was discomfort. I was reluctant to release some things into God’s hands. I was like a child holding onto something for dear life, shaking my head, stomping my foot and proclaiming “No”! The Lord gently reminded me of His love and His desire for nothing but His best for me. How could I argue with that? I let go.

It’s been worth it to let go of those things in my life that brought only death.

It’s been worth it to step into the liberty that is only available through Jesus Christ.

I choose life…for my dreams, for my destiny, for God to work through me.

Are there things in your life that you need to release to God, things that only bring bondage and death? Does God need to burn away the chaff so He can use the seed He has planted in you? Will you let Him?

I encourage you to go to the Lord in prayer, to seek His face and ask Him what needs to go. Be honest with yourself. More importantly, be honest with Him.

Are buzzards circling? Are you going to choose death or choose life?