We have a rat problem in our backyard.  (Don’t judge; you almost certainly have rats in your yard and neighborhood too, no matter how nice it may be!)

The typical Norway rat can (and does) live anywhere.  They love to burrow under things, and any pile or structure that can provide shelter is readily used.  Furthermore, a female rat will often birth from 4 to 6 litters per year, typically producing about 50 babies annually.  But in ideal conditions she can give birth to even more litters and more ratlets, and have up to 150 pups (or more!) over the course of that year.  Those offspring are fending for themselves in just 3 weeks!  So yes, we can be confident that we all have a rat problem.

At our place we have a large garage in the backyard, and our neighbors all around also have outdoor structures.  There are rat holes under every one of them.  The reason multiple tunnels lead under our backyard fences is because we have an active bird feeding station there.  There is always plenty of seed that falls to the ground under the feeders, and the birds don’t peck it all up.  The vermin are glad to glean what is left over.

I love watching the birds; I hate feeding the rats.  (But unfortunately, a person can’t do one without doing the other.)

Consequently, it is common to see the nasty rodents under the feeders at night.  And the bolder ones even during the day!  I have trapped them, poisoned them, and shot them with my pump BB gun.  (I would use larger weapons, but we live in the city.)  Our dog has even taken a few out.  But it’s a losing battle.

However, the tide may be turning. 

The other evening, my daughter was in the backyard with our golden retriever, and she was startled to see the silhouette of a large owl perched on our basketball backboard in the dark.  The owl just stared at her as she snapped its picture, (see the photo above), before finally retreating to some nearby evergreens.

It appears that our nocturnal visitor was a barred owl.  (Also known as a striped owl or hoot owl.)  Barred owls earn their name from the obvious strips on their belly feathers.  They are one of the larger owls, growing as tall as two feet, and are actually considered an invasive species here on the west coast.  They prefer residing and hunting in mature forests, but there one sat in the backyard of a residential area of South Tacoma.

Barred owls will eat pretty much anything that moves, but their preferred main course happens to be small mammals (such as rats!).  Their keen night-vision and silent flight make them formidable predators for scurrying rodents.  From its perch on the basketball backboard, that owl could see virtually the entire backyard … including under the birdfeeders.  I wonder how many nights it has quietly nestled there hunting, and how many rats it has taken out?  We certainly haven’t been seeing as many of the disgusting critters lately.  Perhaps Mr. or Mrs. Owl has snagged multiple meals there recently?

Just as we all have physical rats in our yards, so we all have spiritual rats in our lives.

Those vermin show themselves in many different ways.  They scurry through our lives in every sort of sin and deposit their stinking feces in every aspect of our lives – in our relationships with both God and people, in our perspectives, in our foolish decisions, in our selfish actions, and in our hasty and hurtful speech.  They burrow into our minds through worries, fears, frustrations, discontent and struggling self-esteem.  Nothing is unaffected by their presence.

Try as we might and do what we will, those spiritual rats seem to thrive.  Our sinful natures make for prime habitat for spiritual rodents.

The Lord observed our predicament, was disturbed at our dilemma, and was determined to get involved.  “The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.  He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene [for us]; so his own arm achieved [our] salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him” (Isaiah 59:15-16).

Our Savior swooped silently in and actively intervened.  In unfathomable love, he spread his “wings” wide on the cross to win full atonement for our multiple mistakes.  It cost him dearly, but he paid the price gladly, and he paid the price fully.  And though he died, Satan and the grave could not contain him.

That same Savior sees the havoc the spiritual vermin propagate in our hearts, minds, bodies and lives.  His heart grieves at the pain and problems they bring to his people.  And he still isn’t content to simply silently observe.  

Our Lord who loves us continues to actively intervene on our behalf.  And he is the ultimate predator.  For the sake of this metaphor, Jesus is the silent but deadly effective owl.  (The Bible goes stronger by describing him as the “Lion of Judah” who triumphs – Rev. 5:5.) 

As his people walk in his Word and look to him in faith, he swoops in to pluck off those spiritual rats plaguing them.  Not always and not all of them, but at just the right time, the ones that absolutely need to be removed.  (Unfortunately, never in this world will we be totally free from oppressing vermin.)  But how wonderful when yet another problem is remedied by our Redeemer’s flashing talons!

Which is why Moses, after the Lord miraculously brought the Israelites safely through the Red Sea, sang this song, “The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.  He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.  The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name” (Exodus 15:2-3).

A barred owl, and a loving Savior – both silently observing and actively intervening.  Both incredibly effective!  Both wonderfully comforting!