The mockingbird’s early morning song has a simple, beautiful lesson about worship, and how all creation sings God’s praises.
Almost every morning before waking up, I wake up to the sound of a mockingbird singing its heart out at my bedroom window. He sits in our bush maple tree and calls out his little song to anyone who will listen. There was a big lesson inside that funny song.
Mockingbird song
My mockingbird song is my alarm clock, and I’ll be honest, it’s not exactly a beautiful melody. There is no discernible melody, just a cacophony of squawks, calls and sharp whistles. But he doesn’t care at all. He belts out his own song with everything from his dear little soul.
Some mornings his wake up call is laughable because he is so bad. Other mornings, I’ll admit, it’s a bit much. But anyway, that little bird got me thinking.
Some time ago, a passage of scripture came to mind, something about the trees of the field being clapped. What a picture it is. Can you see the wind blowing through the branches, clapping them?
The trees clap their hands
For thou shalt go out with joy, and be led forth in peace: the mountains and the hills shall go before thee with singing, and the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12
I know the verse is stretching a bit from its original context, but I like to think that the whole earth is singing its own song of worship to God. The trees clap, and yes, even my little mockingbird friend plays his ragtag song.
All creation sings
All the earth sing to the Lord, sing to the Lord, bless his name; Proclaim the glad tidings of their salvation daily. Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth rejoice, let the seas roar and all that is in them rejoice, let the fields and all that is in them rejoice, then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, because he is coming. Psalm 96:1,2,11-13
All the earth, in its own way, knows and glorifies the Lord. Nature knows its Creator, and in a great act of corporate worship, it does only what it was created to do. It shows and worships God and who He is. We can see God and who He is through His creation. It is His purest worship.
Even my noisy little mockingbird is singing with everything in her, doing exactly what God created her to do. And somehow that makes the author of the universe happy. Nature cannot wait for the Lord to return. All creation feels the weight of this broken world and waits with real expectation for Jesus to return.
What keeps us from singing our own song
Here’s the shocking part. God’s most precious creation, we, do not always feel the same eagerness to worship.
Unlike the rest of creation, we often choose to praise ourselves instead. We can act independently of our wonderful Creator, letting our songs and our days be self-directed rather than God-centered. It happens quite easily, doesn’t it? A distracted morning, a long list of worries, a habit of leaning on our own strength instead. Before we know it, the song we were made to sing is silenced.
But we were created for the closest relationship with God of all. Our existence, like the rest of creation, was created to be a song of His praise.
Sing your own song
This morning I took a lesson from my little bird friend. I got up before my feet hit the ground and started my day with my own song to God.
Maybe for you that means saying a verse before getting out of bed, or turning on a worship song while drinking coffee, or simply thanking Him for the new day before your mind fills with the day’s to-do list. It doesn’t have to be pretty. Definitely not my mockingbird. It must come only from a heart that knows who made it and to whom it belongs.
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad. Psalm 118:24
Let us join creation today in praising our Creator. Let us live in Him as we were made, clapping our hands, singing our songs, however inappropriate, with the trees.
Happy Sunday, friends…
