A Hummingbird Declares the Glory of God

I'm sitting at Starbucks at the Waterfront, and there's a huge tropical-looking plant dominating the plot of flowers in front of the store, filling the window I'm facing. As I sat and gazed out the window, my eyes caught sight of a hummingbird darting from flower to flower, moving the way hummingbirds do - quick, choppy bursts of movement followed by a brief split second of hovering. They're amazing to watch.

Watching this particular hummingbird got me thinking. How does it do that? The movements of such a small bird are so perfectly timed, requiring such precision and speed, it's astounding. Think of the greatest aircraft humanity has ever created. None compare to the swiftness and coordination of a hummingbird, who can accelerate with the quickness and raw power of a fighter jet, maneuver with the control and preciseness of an air-race machine, hover in place with the stability of the most advanced helicopter, and stop on a dime like no aircraft ever conceived. The fact that this tiny creature can be darting through the air at full speed, then suddenly halt as though it required no effort at all, is awe-inspiring. And it performs this series of movements nearly every second.

I read on Wikipedia that some hummingbirds flap their wings at a rate of up to 90 beats per second! The human eye can't even process all that movement. And their physical structure allows them to both hover and move in bursts of rapid speed, and even fly backwards. All this occurs naturally, without the bird even thinking about it, with the movements generating from the tiniest twitches of miniscule muscles and tendons. For the hummingbird, it's as natural as breathing.

Nature and witnessing the wonder of God's creation is one of the things that connects me to God most. This morning, it was the movements of a hummingbird that brought me to wonder. God's design in creation is so advanced, so perfect, so unimaginably brilliant! His glory is declared through the movements of a hummingbird doing what it was created to do. "Praise the LORD...creeping things and flying birds!" (Psalm 148:7, 10)

Romans 1:19-20 says, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." God's glory is on display all around us - stop today and let yourself wonder and get caught up in it!

--Jason