While I don’t consider myself a bird enthusiast, I am somewhat fascinated by them and enjoy watching them if they happen to be near me.
In fact, as I write this, my husband and I have a beautiful pair of them living in a nest on our front porch. Every evening, I look forward to seeing them curled up in their mud nest, safe and secure from harm.
Nearly every time that I look up to the roof of my porch to glimpse those beautiful creatures I can’t help but think of Jesus’s words in Matthew 6: 26-27.
Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Matthew 6:26-27 KJV
In these scriptures, Jesus is painting us a picture of His care for us as His children. Later, in Matthew 10, He takes this a step further when He says:
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Matthew 10: 28-31 KJV
If God sees even the tiniest sparrow fall to the ground, why should we think He doesn’t see us when we stumble and fall, when we are drowning under the weight of life’s cares? If God provides food for the fowls of the air, provides shelter from the rain and wind, why can’t we believe He’ll provide those things for us as well?
If God cares about the two little birds living on my front porch, isn’t it safe to believe He cares about me too?
Matthew 6:33 says:
… your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Matthew 6:33 KJV
He already knows what we need before we even ask Him. He knows we need food, shelter, clothing, etc. . . . We are more precious to Him than many sparrows! And yet . . . how many times do we doubt that? How many times do we huddle into our worries and fears, building up turmoil in our spirit, and forget how much our Heavenly Father loves us?
I know I forget far too often.
I tend to be a worrier. I’m a planner, and I like to have everything laid out in detailed order. So when I’m not sure how things will work out, or worse, when things feel completely out of my control . . . I worry. And in the times that we’re living in, the tendency to worry is easier than ever to fall into. I have been fortunate to have an “essential” job and have had to report to work five days a week during this coronavirus crisis, but many others haven’t been so fortunate. According to reports put out by the US Labor Department, over 26 million people have filed for unemployment since the virus hit our country.
These are alarming and stressful days for all of us . . . However, the voice of Jesus is calling for you and me to see the portrait of love He has painted and to remember and believe the truth that we are His most precious creation. He not only calls us His created, He calls us His children. His beloved. His chosen. Why would He forget about us and leave us to sort out our daily needs and worries on our own? He is standing before us with His nail-scarred hands open wide, ready and waiting for us to cast life’s cares at His feet and let Him care for us in His perfect way. As He said in Matthew 6:35:
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Matthew 6:35 KJV
There's no need to worry over tomorrow, because He holds tomorrow. He is holding all of our tomorrows in His hands. We must only trust Him, the true Owner of everything in the universe, to meet the needs of each day as they come. For He calls us His own, and we are more precious to Him than many sparrows.
**Photo: johan severino on Unsplash
