Tuesday, March 25th, 2025
This blog technically isn’t directly related to the lunar eclipse, but it is something I observed while I was enjoying the full spectrum of lunar eclipse events. In my few hours of standing outside I was surprised by the number of times that I heard geese flying over. Because it was nighttime, I never actually saw them flying but I could hear their distinctive sound. Geese by nature are diurnal animals (active during the day). However, there are a few reasons why they will choose to migrate during nighttime.
The first reason is because they can avoid diurnal predators. While there are certainly predators at night, there are less of them, and they are more than likely not aerial predators. The second reason is so that they can avoid daytime thermal updrafts. Soaring birds like turkey vultures and many hawks take advantage of atmospheric updrafts because these allow them to soar to incredible heights. Geese however are not soaring animals. Instead, they are constantly flapping to get to an intended destination. A thermal updraft really just provides resistance instead of assistance. Lastly, geese fly at night to benefit from cooler temperatures. As I mentioned above, geese expend a lot of energy when they fly. This also means they create a lot of heat. Flying in the coolness of night is like working out in an air-conditioned room versus a sauna. Geese can travel farther when they are not spending excess energy just to stay cool.
From a spiritual perspective, many of us do not enjoy our travels through the darkness. Whatever test or opportunity God is inviting us into, it doesn’t produce the same feelings as the middle of the day when it’s 70 and sunny. But can we, like geese, learn to take advantage of our nighttime flights? While the reason for our darkness might be weighty enough on it’s own, at least from my personal experience it does seem like other “predators” are less prevalent in my dark valleys. It could be that I am paying these things less attention or it could be that God is graciously holding them back so I can put all my energy into just this one mountain.
In a season when we are on top of the mountain and everything seems to be going smoothly, it seems like we have a greater chance of being distracted. We can see more clearly which may lead to us focus on things that God did not intend. In this same vein we may also be expending more energy in all of these various places. On the other hand, when we are trudging through the valley, we just naturally do a better job of taking our time. We rest more as we seek God and wait on Him. We are also conserving our energy so that we can be more focused on finding the keys to our battle victory.
Final Thoughts…
For geese, nighttime travel may pose a new risk because it’s harder to see, but the benefits mentioned above make the reward greater than the risk. We too often have a harder time seeing in our dark valleys, but we often make greater strides in our spiritual journey. When we are fully surrendered to God, we too will come to understand that although the dark valleys feel riskier, they often come with the greatest rewards. Through all of these recent blogs I just keep hearing in my spirit that we need to get to a place where we stop fearing the valleys and see them for the significant growth opportunity they provide. It may not be an easy battle, but if it’s the only way to victory it will be worth the effort every time.