Birds and Three-Strand Cords

        I recently read about starling murmurations. Masses of these birds gather together and move in one huge group across the sky. They aren’t simply flying in a flock. They make a show in the sky by twisting and turning into myriads of different shapes. I viewed a murmuration on a YouTube video and it is truly amazing to watch.

         Starlings are small-to medium-size birds. They have a short tail and a pointed head. Their feathers are glossy black, streaked with tinges of purple and green. One account I read stated that murmurations form when one starling copies the behaviour of its seven neighbours. Then those starlings nearby copy each of their seven neighbours, until the entire group moves as one.

        Often at sundown, starlings will produce a synchronized cloud of movement over their roosting site – the place where they will rest for the night. It has also been hypothesized that starlings use their dance to deter larger predators like hawks or falcons from attacking the group. When they move as one, it can confuse the predator and decrease the individual risk faced by each  starling.

        Like the starling, we are always better when we are together, rather than alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NLT) says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.” Verse 10 goes on to say, “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”

         One of Satan’s tactics is to isolate us and make us easy prey for him. Without the comfort and protection of others, we’re exposed and easy for him to “pick off”. I love the New Living Translation of verse 12 of Ecclesiastes 4. It says, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer...” We need others in our lives who are willing to stand back-to-back with us when we’re in the midst of a battle.

            Verse 12 of Ecclesiastes 4 ends with, “...Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” With companions, we are not alone. We can give and receive help. Today, a Christian friend I hadn’t heard from for a while called me. She shared some problems she was facing and we prayed together. Then she asked me how she could lift me up in prayer. I told her and know she will be faithful in bringing my needs before the Lord.

          “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Jesus never meant for us to slug it out alone. We are part of a body, His Body, the Body of Christ, every part supporting every other part.
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            One other thing about a starling murmuration. Each starling instinctively follows their nearest companion. Apparently, they fly so close, that if one missed a beat, they’d suffer calamity. My closing prayer is, “Lord, help me to fly so close to You that there is no space between us. Help me to see the lost, lonely, and hurting, to reach out to them, and bring them into a community which flies together. In the precious Name of Jesus, Amen.”