The Birds

I sat outside of Panera yesterday, waiting for a friend, and ended up entranced by the simplicity of the birds. There was a piece of bread on the asphalt; normally I wouldn't have even given it a second thought, but considering my current journey it caused me to stop and reflect. Jesus says in Matthew 6:25-27

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

I sat there and watched this bird as it discovered this chunk of bread and tried to begin its meal. However, it was much too big and the bird's beak too small to really consume it. I was amazed as I watched this little bird carry the bread to a puddle and drop it in to soak up the water, making it quite soggy, allowing him to easily pick pieces away and eat his lunch! Honestly, he seemed so happy without a care in the world.

As I observed this bird, I was struck by the thought of how this piece of bread came to even be there in the first place. The bird did not sew seeds, harvest grain, or bake any bread. Nor did he hunt this tiny meal down in the wild. And what about the person who was responsible for this morsel? I'm sure they did not buy the bread with the intention of leaving a piece for the birds, nor would they be in want after losing it in the parking lot. No, there was no intent other than the Lord's to feed his precious birds. It was by his hand this small piece of bread came to fall upon the ground and by his will that this bird would discover it.

So it is with us! "Are you not much more valuable than they?" Of course! Later in Matthew 10:31, Jesus says, "you are worth more than many sparrows." If God cares so much for these birds of the air, then how much more intensely does he care for us as well? What a vital perspective to keep in mind as I trust the Lord to provide for me. I have no need to worry. God will provide what I need as he sees fit, and I will never be in want, as the first verse of Psalm 23 reminds us! I just need to live life following as he leads, and I will come across these little "pieces of bread" as He drops them along the journey. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide.

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." -Psalm 23:1