A Little Bird Told Me

Matthew 6:26-27 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

This scripture can to life before my eyes one day years ago when I was worrying about raising money for my first mission trip. I had just finished lunch with a co-worker and we were in the parking lot preparing to head back to work. He got a work call, so I sat in the truck waiting. I was thinking about the money issue and concerned I would not be able to raise the amount needed by the upcoming payment deadline.

As my co-worker continued to talk, I noticed the birds on the grass nearby looking for things to eat. One bird in particular caught my eye. You know how newly mowed grass can lump up? Well this bird wasn’t just pecking in the grass but would move from one clump to another, lift it up and find a tasty treat underneath. This verse came to mind immediately.

Let’s face it, worry has no advantages.  It ruins our health, robs us of joy, and changes nothing.

God used the birds of the air to remind me that He is my provision. I sat in the truck and asked God then and there to forgive my doubt.

He taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” No mention of concern for next week’s bread at all.  Max Lucado said, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.” 

One last thought…notice the bird wasn’t sitting on its…ah, nest…but out doing what it had to do to eat. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  God is faithful to do His part and we need to be faithful to trust in Him. We cannot just sit in the nest and wait for food to fall in our laps; we must get out and about in faith. God provided manna for forty years to the Israelites but they had to gather it.

I encourage you to get out and listen to the birds today. It is a joyful thing!