“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are?” (Matthew 6:25-26, NLT)
Sometimes even the simplest of things remind us of the sense of wonder and joy we should have because of the wonderful and loving Heavenly Father and all that He has done and is even now doing, in our lives and the world in which we live!
It is the recognition of something God in His infinite wisdom created … and being filled with amazement at what our eyes are beholding. The Grand Canyon, a mountain range, or one of the oceans … the sky at night without the interference of manmade lights and the amazing panoply of stars and galaxies … big evidence of His power without a doubt!
But also … the little bird.
Jesus, the Master Teacher, the Creating force behind the world we live in, was able on so many occasions during His earthly ministry to point out valuable lessons about faith and trust in God’s mindfulness of each of us by looking at the very world around us.
In the true Masterpiece He preached in what has come to be identified as The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses illustrations from life all around the listeners to make significant applications to one’s life and purpose … that of honoring and glorifying God in complete trust!
Some people are bird watchers … not just a casual watching … but the exploratory and documentation-kind of bird watching! I’ve never really done that, but readily admit the pleasure derived from watching the speed, and sheer beauty of one of the smallest of birds, the hummingbird.
Watching them surround the birdfeeders designed for them … watching them dart in and out … up and down … backwards and forwards … even trying to squeeze each other out from drinking the prepared nectar! God has provided a way for them to thrive and survive!
Each of us has our own particular burdens in life that we must carry (Galatians 6:1-2). Some of those burdens others can help us to bear, but still, others are to be borne by us individually.
In both cases, God is always there … ready to comfort, guide, and lead us through whatever it is that is hard to bear.
Many good friends and much-loved brethren are bearing some heavy burdens even now! They don’t really know how things are going to turn out … none of us do. But this one thing I know for sure, God does! He sees … He knows … He cares! (I Peter 5:7)
We’ve probably all been in that hard place where doubt wants to intrude into our hearts and minds. That is when we need to realize the valuable blessing of simply, honestly giving it all to the Lord! No matter the nature or intensity!
Among those lessons Jesus taught on the mountainside is the tiny and so-easy-to-pass-over illustration of how the Lord provides even for the birds of the air. It is interesting that this point being made by Jesus falls right in with other thoughts that we might become anxious over. Things like … food … clothing … housing … the various needs, not the wants, of life!
To be sure … some of the burdens each one of us is called upon to face can at first blush appear to be just too much to face … too much to deal with! And then … if we’re not real careful during this moment … the evil one will come whispering his dishonest words that convey the opposite of what is truth!
We have a strong inclination to take matters into our own hands and ‘help the Lord out.’ He doesn’t need our help … He needs our hearts … our love … our devotion, our trust, and our commitment.
Does He have yours?
Are you taking your burdens and giving them to Him in faith? Oh, if we can only learn to trust Him even in our doubts … trusting and believing that He will see us through whatever comes. It may not be the end of the issue we are facing, but it will provide the strength to face it!
Does it not make good sense to realize that if God … our Creator … who made us in His image, gave His only begotten Son to die on the Cross for our sins … He will also provide all else that we may need in this life? “He feeds the birds … He clothes the lilies of the field” … and He will provide for us … always!
How can we be so sure of all of this? Because the Bible tells us so! So, my friend, my brother or sister in Christ … Go to Him and tell Him all of your worries. Let Him know just what’s on your heart and mind! He truly does care and wants to make our “burden easy and our yoke light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Throughout the pages of God’s Book … He invites us to come out of the winds and storms of life and its burdens … and into His loving arms for protection, guidance, and hope!
“If the world from you withholds of its silver and its gold, and you have to get along with meager fare. Just remember, in His word, how He feeds the little bird. Take your burden to the Lord, leave it there!” (Song, Leave It There, by Charles Tindley, 1916)
We … that’s you and me … we just need to lay our burdens down at His feet and leave them there!
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.” (Psalm 55:22, NLT)
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
No comments yet.