As I shared a few weeks ago, I really enjoy hunting turkeys in the spring. Although I like to chase whitetails in the fall, spring gobbler season is entirely different. Every green plant is sending out fresh growth, the woods are coming alive, and there is an incredible chorus from all the birds singing for their mates.
While I’ve also been a bit of an amateur bird watcher, I’ve never been very good at identifying birds by their songs. Each bird is different and most have several different sounds and melodies which makes them even harder to master. Although I’ve had a bird clock for several years, there are many more winged creatures in our valley with an almost infinite variety of music.
Imagine how excited I was when my nephew introduced me to the Merlin app. This cell phone tool is programed to listen to all the birds it hears and then identify them by their sounds. As new recordings are started, one bird after another pops up along with a sound recording at the top. If you click on any of the birds listed, you can learn more about them as well as hear all the various songs each bird can sing. When I traveled to Guatemala last year for a mission trip, I loaded that country’s over 600 critters into the app and got to hear and identify some while there!
On early spring mornings in Virginia the woods are a cacophony of sounds as every bird in the Commonwealth praises its Creator. Even though I can only see very few, the Merlin app tells me just how many different species are in the area. I’ve learned to know some of the songs but it’s always exciting when a new one shows up. I never saw the Scarlet Tanager this spring, but he was singing somewhere close by along with red-eyed vireos, indigo buntings, great crested flycatchers and the happy Carolina wrens.
This app reminds me of how difficult it sometimes is to sort out all the noises we hear around us. Television, radio, social media, friends, family, etc. all compete for our ears’ attention. The larger the crowd, the more sounds there are and the more difficult it becomes to focus on any one particular voice. There are times the world becomes one massive episode of the Masked Singer.
Jesus told His followers in John 10 that His sheep recognize His voice and follow Him. At the time, it was common for several shepherds to bring all of their sheep into the same enclosure for the night for safety. At dawn, each shepherd would call to his sheep and they would sort themselves out by the sound of the various voices. Even among all the sheep noises and other shepherds, each sheep knew the sound of its own shepherd’s voice and followed him out to pasture.
The more I listen to the app and the birds, the better I become at knowing each bird’s song. So too as I listen more to Jesus, the better I know His voice. By spending time in His Word, in prayer, and with His other followers, the better I can discern His voice amidst the raucous world in which we live and the more closely I can then follow Him. Knowing His voice also gives me insight as to which other sounds I should pay attention to and which I can and should ignore. His voice helps us make sense of all other competing voices.
Conversely, the less time I spend with Jesus, the less I’ll recognize His voice. The more I listen to the worldly influences, the more that meaningless chatter will influence and control me. What will you listen to?
If you enjoy birdwatching, be sure to download the Merlin app. But be even more certain to spend time listening to Jesus that you might know His voice and follow Him. Blessings, George