Heart of the Sparrow

In my opinion, birds are one of God’s most beautiful creations. Don’t get me wrong, if i were trapped in a room with an uncaged bird flying around my head, I’d probably freak! But there are also many situations when I really enjoy birds. I miss the days where I’d sit with my grandma (who’s now in heaven) by her big window that overlooked her feeders and would scramble through the “bird book” every time a new species flew in. I also love warm summer mornings when the windows are open and you awake to a chorus of birds chirping their lovely morning songs. It’s also fun to watch birds effortlessly fly overhead and wonder what it would be like to fly. Even one of my favorite necklaces I wore quite often in college was a golden flying bird.

In the Bible there are many verses about birds we can learn from. One type of bird -surprisingly not one of God’s beauty contest winners- a sparrow, is mentioned quite a few times. Matt. 10:29-31 says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” God’s eye is on the things we think are insignificant. From the life of every sparrow to the number of hairs on someone’s head, He is infinitely attuned to the details of His creation. If God is concerned about a little sparrow, how much greater must His concern be for you, who is immeasurably greater than a sparrow. Sometimes we feel like the “sparrow alone” in Psalm 102:7, like no one understands the hurt we are feeling. God does. Psalm 44:21 says, “For He knows the secrets of the heart”. Find comfort and refuge in Him like the sparrow, in Psalm 84:3-4, that made her nest in the safety of His house. Look at Matthew 6:25-34. God does not want us to worry about our life. Again, God brings up the birds of the air that He feeds and asks us a question we already know the answer to, “are you not much more valuable than they?” Give God your worries, your concerns, your thoughts, and your heart.

A song my grandma used to sing to me when I was a little girl and still brings me so much comfort is, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. The story behind the song is very inspirational. The songwriter, Civilla Martin, tells of a visit to the Doolittles in 1904. Deeply impressed by the joyful spirit that the Doolittles maintained in spite of severe adversity, Mrs. Martin asked the woman if she ever got discouraged because of the her physical condition. Her friend responded quickly saying, “Mrs. Martin, how can I be discouraged when my heavenly Father watches over each little sparrow and I know He loves and cares for me.”