God Sees Sparrows Fall

I remember well the situation when I first encountered the hard lesson that God isn’t in the business of answering prayer just so I can be comfortable. At first there was no meat for dinner, no fresh vegetables, then no canned goods, after awhile no sugar, flour or eggs, no potatoes or rice or beans, no bread or milk. Finally the only thing to eat remaining in my kitchen was a jar of home-canned purple stuff, unidentified, left by a former tenant. I tried to thicken it with some tapioca, but it was totally inedible. I was hungry, so hungry that I gave second thoughts to how easy it would be to steal a loaf or two from the bread truck while the delivery man was inside the store.

Not only was I hungry, by the third day of my imposed fast I was also quite distressed. It’s really disheartening to “go home for lunch” when there’s no lunch. I spent the hour pondering things. I was truly perplexed. Isn’t God obligated to look after His children? Doesn’t His provision include something to eat?

The words that came quickly to my heart explained clearly something about God’s care. “I do care. I even watch out for sparrows, but I don’t prevent every single sparrow from falling. Sometimes sparrows do fall. Were none ever to fall, just imagine! the world would soon be overcome by them. But though the sparrow falls, I see it. I take note. I am there, and I care.

“Furthermore, you don’t do well to teach children, ‘Don’t be afraid, God won’t let anything hurt you.’ That’s not really true. Bad things do happen; people do get hurt. What you must know is that I am there. I am never not there.”

I don’t pretend to understand all the reasons why people encounter suffering. But I do know one thing for sure: God is in it with me; He’s in it with you.

Oh, the end of the story? A friend came by with a paper I had promised I’d type for him. Since it was lunchtime, he asked, “Have you eaten?” Hesitantly, I told him I had not. Watching me very carefully, he asked, “Do you have anything to eat?” When I confessed that I did not, he promptly paid me for the typing in advance!

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29, 31 (NIV)

MaryMartha
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