A blue jay landed suddenly on the wire cage enclosing a suet cake, the action surprising me. That particular feeder is designed for birds that cling rather than perch, and on this particular morning a red-bellied woodpecker watched indignantly from a few feet away as the blue jay dined on the meal that was meant to be his. Finally willing to tolerate this trespass no longer, he flew directly at the feeder, scaring the bigger bird off in the process. He huffed and puffed his wings out a couple of times, looking to make sure the blue jay got the message, and proceeded to eat his fill.
A bully in the bird world, the blue jay scares off smaller birds and eats eggs out of their nests. He can be compared to the enemy of our souls, who likewise to steal that which is rightfully ours, destroying our young and stealing our joy, threatening us with his formidable appearance. Finally there comes a day when, fed up with his tactics, we stand up to him, taking back that which is rightfully ours and flexing the spiritual muscles we have through Christ inside of us. And when we do, the enemy takes off, because he recognizes an authority greater than his own.
God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies… but they're not meant to be our dinner guests. The next time the devil tries to pull out a chair at your banquet table, you have every right to shoo him away.
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