The Sparrow

There’s a hymn that, even though I like it in general, the words can tend to rub me the wrong way. “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” by Civilla D. Martin, says in part:

“Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for Heav’n and home…

“I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.”

I think the reason the song irritates me is that I know how often I (and all Christians) do get discouraged and lonely and frustrated with life in a broken world. Just telling someone “don’t be discouraged” or “don’t worry—be happy” feels like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. It is true that Jesus said “Fear not,” and “Do not be anxious,” but I would contend that His words were not intended as a command but as a comfort, because He included encouraging words of God’s love and care for us (e.g. Matt. 6:25-34).

The church has a tendency to admonish the weary and wounded rather than comforting and encouraging them. We sing songs that are upbeat and celebratory, and we’ve lost the language of lament. Words like sorrow, tears, weeping, and mourning occur over 300 times in Scripture. Joy and joyful appear about 200 times in the ESV.

As believers we are called to mourn over sin in our own lives and those we love (2 Cor. 12:21). We should experience sorrow because of death and illness (Phil. 2:27). Suffering is normal for those who desire to live godly lives in an ungodly world (1 Pet. 2:19-21). These things should make us long for our eternal home, where “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). We grieve now while we hold onto the promise of that eternal hope (1 Thess. 4:13).

There may be times when we lose sight of God’s presence and we get unduly disheartened, and we may need to be reminded that His eye is on us at all times. But we should not be so quick to dismiss the experience of suffering. Faith grows through enduring the hard times, not by escaping from them. It is through faithful endurance that we become fruitful messengers of God’s comfort (2 Cor. 1:3-7).

By all means, sing joyful songs when you are happy, but also join in the songs of lament when those are more appropriate. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15), and thereby bring help and hope to the hurting.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them fall will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Even the Sparrow

I mentioned in a recent blog that I have taped Matthew 10:31 on my mirror: “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (ESV). Psalm 84:3 presents another interesting picture: “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” Sometimes I feel like the little sparrow that has snuck into the palace through an open window—not necessarily invited, but not rejected either. Allowed to stay for the pleasure of the King. In His presence is the best home and all the provisions that are ever needed. “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Gather feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

It’s interesting that just a few chapters apart in Matthew, Jesus reminds His followers that they don’t need to fear or be anxious because the Father cares for them more than the birds. The first instance is preached to a large crowd in the Sermon on the Mount. The second comes after Jesus names the twelve disciples and calls them to go out and proclaim His kingdom. If they were anything like us (which they were), they could well have heard the first sermon and thought “Well, sure, God cares for people more than animals. Nothing new there.” But when Jesus repeated His message to just the twelve, maybe it started to sink in a little deeper: “Oh, God really cares for me personally, not just Israel in general.”

God’s care is further expressed in His invitation to cast our cares upon Him. A devotional book I’ve been reading included a prayer thanking God that we can “come before Him,” but the choice of words made me pause. You “come before” a judge and jury, but you can come to the loving Father. You make petitions to the court, but you can lay your burdens before the Lord.  

I had a dream the other night in which someone gave me an orchid, but almost immediately the stalk broke, and I was trying to find a way to prop it up to save the flower. When I woke I was reminded of Isaiah 42:3: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice” (ESV). This prophecy was repeated in Matthew 12 as being fulfilled by Jesus.

There are many other metaphors in Scripture to describe God’s love for His children, which I won’t try to list. Suffice it to say that God doesn’t want us to take His love for granted. Here is an old hymn I came across that has been running through my mind all week.

Here Is Love (words by William Rees, public domain)

Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8YOPj5TnUM

He Knows

I’ve been reading through the Old Testament lately, and just came to Exodus 2. Verses 23-25 say:

“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” (ESV, emphasis added).

Just three little words, but they tell so much of the story, and of our story. God knew that the Israelites were in a desperate situation in Egypt; after all, He was the one who arranged for Joseph to be in charge in Egypt during the years of famine. God knew they needed help. But more importantly, God knew that He already had a plan in the works to redeem them through the hand of Moses.

In more recent times, God knew the suffering and decimation of the Jews in Nazi Germany. God knew what was happening on 9-11 as planes were being hijacked. God knew what was happening with every major earthquake, hurricane, and tsunami ever recorded. It’s hard for us to look at massive deaths and destruction and believe that God is both in control and concerned for His people.

And it’s not just the events that make the national news. Friends of mine from college have a daughter who was born with multiple birth defects. She has endured (and thrived) through numerous surgeries, and recently celebrated her 16^th birthday. They will be quick to tell you that she is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). God not only knew what He was doing, but He “knitted her together” the way He chose.

Ravi Zacharias brings it close to home for me in his book The Grand Weaver:

“To be able to accept the wonder and the marvel of one’s own personality, however flawed or ‘accidental,’ and place it in and trust it to the hands of the One who made it, is one of the greatest achievements in life. His ‘registration number’ is on you. Your DNA matters because the essence of who you are matters and whose you are by design matters. Every little feature and ‘accident’ of your personality matter. Consider it God’s sovereign imprint on you” (28).

He later says:

“Faith is a thing of the mind. If you do not believe that God is in control and has formed you for a purpose, then you will flounder on the high seas of purposelessness, drowning in the currents and drifting further into nothingness” (43).

I’m sure we all go through times when we wonder whether God is paying attention and if or when He might intervene. Nations go to war, churches split, couples divorce, children are left orphaned, and yet through it all God knows. Individuals go through physical or mental illness, all kinds of abuse, and even death, and God knows.

If you read on through the book of Exodus, you see all the details that God worked out to free His people from slavery in Egypt. He is at work today in working out His master plan and weaving His grand tapestry. We may never get to see the bigger picture in this lifetime, but in the life to come we will be awestruck by the beauty He has created out of what seemed so messy and painful at the time.

On my bathroom mirror I have taped Matthew 10:31, which with the context from verses 29-30 says: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

He knows, and He cares.