Like Water Off A Duck's Back!

Have you ever heard this phrase used? Usually it's when someone has said something to hurt your feelings or offend you. Wouldn't it be a beautiful world if we didn't have to worry about being verbally attacked or ridiculed by others? Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in, so we have to learn to deal with these offenses and come out of it better and not bitter.


I had someone today tell me, "Let it roll off your back, like water off a duck." I thought about that and decided to do some research and find our just why water rolls off the back of a duck. And what I found is, for the Christ Follower, an awesome set of facts that we can look at and compare to our own lives, and what works to keep us "waterproof".

The reason water rolls off a duck's back is because oil and water don’t mix. When a duck is swimming or out in the rain, the bird secretes an oil from glands near its tail. With its bill, the duck rubs the oil over its body. This is called preening. The oil keeps the water from soaking through the duck’s feathers, making the bird “waterproof.” (WOOO! Think about that!) The oil in our lives is the presence of Holy Spirit! And how much He is involved in our lives is directly up to us. How much we allow Him to be. He is a gentleman and He will not enter in areas that we do not allow Him access. So, it is best for us, as Christ Followers to allow Holy Spirit to completely fill us (remember, the oil comes from a gland in the duck) and cover us.

Have you ever sat at a lake or pond and just watched the ducks. This preening they do is constant. They don't go too far before they are preening again. They remind me of my cats, how they are continuously cleaning themselves. We need to be continuous in our "being filled", and covering ourselves in His presence and power through reading the Word and intimate communion with Him. Then when someone "splashes" you with unkind words or judgements against you, they will roll right off of your back and not affect you. Why? Because you know who, and Whose you are! When that is established in your heart there is nothing anyone can say or do to you that will be able to penetrate that shield. And instead of being injured and becoming angry and possibly bitter, you can walk with your head high as a child of the King of Kings, and you can walk in Matthew 5:44 where Jesus commands us to " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." And you can do it with a motive of pure LOVE! I don't know about you, but that excites me!!

Did you know that baby ducks need their mother to preen them, they are not born waterproof? Now just think about this for a minute. . . . . How much more do we need to be covering and "grooming" new Christ Followers? It is when we don't protect and groom and watch over them (in other words DISCIPLESHIP), that they fall prey to the schemes of the enemy and get waterlogged and sick and sometimes even drown.

So keep preening yourselves! Stay in the Word, stay in prayer, and the Holy Spirit will cover you from head to toe and make you waterproof!! No weapon formed against you will prosper! (Isaiah 54:17)