A Hunting He Will Go

Bats emit an ultrasonic call and then locate their prey by the echoes they hear in return. While many moths can hear this call and skirt an attack, there is one species of bat they don’t often escape. The barbastelle bat is a very successful hunter that consumes large numbers of moths daily. Until recently, many researchers assumed that these moths were earless and thus unable to hear their enemy approaching. As it turns out, though, the barbastelle preys almost exclusively on moths that have ears.

A team of researchers uncovered the secret of barbastelle's success. This bat uses a sneaky hunting strategy to catch its prey–it whispers. Whereas moths can detect other bats more than 30 meters away, the barbastelle can get as close as 3.5 meters to the moth without being detected. By whispering, the bat can hear the echo from an unsuspecting moth before it even becomes aware of its hunter.

Our enemy uses this technique on us too. He especially seeks those with ears to hear his rhetoric. Listen how our adversary tried to consume Job by whispering lies that God didn’t care about him (Job 4): "A word was secretly brought to me; my ears caught a whisper of it. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. I heard a hushed voice: If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, who are crushed more readily than a moth! Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever."

Sometimes as Christians, we put on our armor and stand with our hands on our hips; we dare the enemy speak death over us. And as we proudly stand there with our fists in the air, rebuking his calls, and evading his obvious attacks, we fall prey to the whispers. The Bible says that all of our enemies whisper together against us; they imagine the worst for us (Psa 41:7-8).

So what are we to do in these times when we’re standing firm yet being hunted by the enemy? We listen for another voice. Whether we turn to the right or left, our ears will hear a voice behind us saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Is 30:21) And as we walk with God, let the only echo the enemy hears be the Holy Spirit resonating in our lives.