“There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” Matthew 6:26 Message
As I sat this morning, all cozy and warm in front of the fire, I watched the birds outside of my window. Feasting at my feeder were vibrant bluejays, competitive grosbeaks, the dancing chickadees, and the beautifully decorated finches. On the ground eating what the others dropped were juncos, doves, pine siskins, and my pet squirrel. The outside temperature was cold and crisp, yet they seemed completely undeterred by the frosty air that surrounded them. They sang a joyful song, they shared a common tree, and took turns nibbling at the seeds that would provide them nourishment for today. I have watched many of these birds over and over again as part of my morning routine. They never seem to show up grumpy. They have never failed to come without a new song. Even days when the feeder has been running low on seed, I would still hear their song echoing through the air. They have never complained about the type of seed I offer them, they just show up, feast, and sing. That is what birds do. They remind us that every day brings a reason to sing. Every moment provides an opportunity to praise, to lift ones voice and declare your Creator.
These birds also remind me of God’s personal care. They don’t stress when the feeder is a bit low. They just keep coming, and what was almost empty today, is filled fresh and new again tomorrow. They don’t cry because it is cold, they just sing and let the crisp, cool air carry their song farther. They aren’t worried about their lives. It is like they know a secret, their lives are not self contained, but kept by someone greater. They don’t worry, because their Creator can be trusted to care for them. Not one falls to the ground that He does not see. Of all the bird of the air, not one, not a single bird’s fall is out of God’s sight. He not only sees them, but He provides for them. I know we know this, but the next time you see a finch remember if God puts within that bird the nature to trust Him, how can we not trust?
I have always been told trust is earned, trust is a feeling, trust is whatever you want to call it, but I am beginning to believe something very different. Trust is a choice. We have all been hurt and there are times when we feel that trust has been broken. Yet, even in my brokenness , I can still choose to trust. This trust is about trusting God. When I trust Him, I don’t have to try and figure it all out. Then I don’t have to stress over the things of life. I can believe that He really will care for this life whether I am feasting at His feeder or eating the crumbs dropped by the feasters. He is caring for me. This kind of trust produces gratitude. Gratitude will find its voice in a song, a praise, or a declaration of my Creator.
Today I am grateful for the birds and their song. I am thankful that they are a reminder to me of God’s personal care and provision. I am blessed because there is not a detail of my life that misses His attention. I am grateful for the freedom of choice. I can choose to trust and throw away every excuse for not being a woman of gratitude.
Comments(5)
Rhonda Fralic (Fanning) says:
February 15, 2015 at 4:38 amAs I was awoken to my prayer closet early this morning, God reminded me of so many of these things, as I sat before Him. I completely understand why Jesus got up early to pray. I find my times alone with the Lord at 3 am is such an honor. I feel like it’s just Him and I communing. A time when there”s so much darkness surrounding us; and yet, there He is, just waiting to talk to us.
This scripture about how He feeds the birds; and, clothes the lillies has been one I have spoken to many so many times. At times when people feel that He has left them, or, they are in need, I remind them that He is faithful.
I know that at many times in my life as I grow trust Him more and more, I am thankful for the hard times, just because it’s in these places He taught me that there is nothing to hard for Him. That when He says He goes before us, it’s a promise and He keeps His promises. When He says, I will provide for all of your needs, He does.
Right now for example, I am down with a broken ankle and have been for 5 weeks. I can’t even begin to tell you what He has done for me in this time. He has turned my season of “mourning” into a season of “dancing”. He has shown me that even though I may not be able to get out, He can get in…He has sent food. He has sent encouragment. He has been there for me when I feel lonely; and, when I may be just at my lowest, He sends someone in someway to remind me, “Rhonda, you are my daugther; and, I care for you. I love you, just as a Father should love His child.”
Who could ask for anything more; but, yet we do. We often wine and complain about what we don’t have; but, do we take the time to look at what we do have?
It seems that God is really calling us to this place in this season. I am seeing it in what He is laying on others hearts that seek Him first in their lives. I am reading it in prophetic words, in personal testimonies and as we move closer and closer to His return and the darkness that surrounds us, He wants us to know that we need not be anxious for anything; but, He wants us to come to Him in prayer and supplication, giving thanks always……not just for ourselves; but, for our families, for our church families, for our communities, for our provinces, our nations, our government and those in authority. He states it in His word. He tells us that if His people would humble themselves and pray, turn from their wicked ways, then HE WILL heal our land. Amen
I thank those who pray faithfully over our nations, over our communities; and, we see that He hears and answers.. I thank Him that He uncovered a situation over the last couple of days in Halifax that could have ended very differently….How many lives did He save by answering the cries of those that are faithful to spend time with Him in prayer.
We serve a Mighty God who is drawing us closer to Him. We need to stop talking about things and unify in prayer. That’s what is going to bring our children to their knees, heal our communities and heal our land.
May He bless you today as we weather out another storm. He is doing things a new way; and, even though churches may end up being cancelled, we are the church; and, we can worship Him right in our homes.
Pat McRae says:
February 15, 2015 at 4:37 pmAs I read this verse I was reminded of all the hours I have wasted worrying during my life time. Even knowing how much I am loved and cherished, cared for and protected, provided for in every area of my life I have been found standing in the shoes of one who can’t see the blessing for worrying about some little thing that in 24 hours won’t even matter. And as if worrying isn’t silly enough I even try to figure out how I will fix the situation. Now come on if it is worthy of worry I must be worrying because I do not know how to fix it or I already would of done that. But no I have spent hours worrying and planning, and of course it was all to no avail. So much time wasted on the external pleasures of life and the eternal never came into focus.
I do not point a finger here I talk about me and me alone. What’s for supper at 7am. I haven’t even had breakfast yet, but I am worried about supper? When you think about it, it is rather silly and makes no sense. You are going to eat what is available or you are going to buy something, so why all the worry? You have choices even if the choice comes down to bread or crackers it still is a choice many do not get to make.
And this one God must really love. “I have nothing to wear God! You know that colour doesn’t look good on me anymore and that is so outdated and really I wore that last time,” and the list of complaints goes on and on. Meanwhile the real issue is I have to much to wear and can’t decide which one of my many outfits I want to wear. He must look at Jesus and say, “What is that girl going to do when she gets up here and finds out she only has one robe of righteousness to wear?”
I love Pastor Freda’s post from earlier today about the birds outside her window eating and singing praises through the storm because that is what they were created to do. Now I don’ remember her saying anything about one of them wishing for a warmer suit of clothes or a more colourful feather. Why? Because even a small little bird knows God has given them His best for today. They praise the Creator for Who he is not what he does. And I have yet to see a bird sitting at a feeder exclaiming, “seeds again! I am so sick of seeds!” No they eat what is before them, sometimes with such enthusiasm more seeds end up on the ground then in the belly, but they enjoy the blessing.
I am thankful today that God reminds me I am valued, loved, cherished and cared for. I am thankful God chose to have me learn the lessons of thankfulness from a little bird of the air. I am thankful for all my blessings, and that finally my life is not about the external pleasures of man, but is about the eternal things of God. Oh I love to look nice, dressed appropriately, clean and neat. I am thankful I can do this without the worry or stress of impressing anyone, because to have more, means I should give up some of what I have and I really do not want to do that right now.
I am thankful that I have never once in my lifetime gone to bed hungry, and I feel so bad that there are people in this world that go to bed daily hungry and without the simple basics of life! If I went to bed hungry it was because I had decided to diet or fast, I have enough around my waste to keep me going for more then one day, and the flesh was not happy about the decision.
Father thank You for forgiving me for being a spoilt brat, unthankful for all You have done for me. I ask You Holy Spirit to arrest me the moment my mind should decide to start down that road of ungratefulness, complaining and desiring more, more, more! Thank You Jesus for making it possible to be a daughter to the King, privileged in every area of my life.
Sue Holmes says:
February 15, 2015 at 10:42 pmToday, February 15, was a storm day in Atlantic Canada. There has been snow, rain, ice, wind & flooding. And in spite of that I have seen numerous pictures posted online of birds feasting on top of fresh Atlantic snow. They seemed oblivious to the storm around them. They were provided with their daily needs by a provider that they probably had never seen. They only knew that experience had taught them that they could enjoy the meal till filled and there would be more tomorrow.
There have been many times that I have found myself acting very much unlike those birds. Many times complaining or being picky about the food available to me. Many times worrying about having ‘nothing’ to wear from my already filled closet. Many times dragged down by the ‘worries’ of life.
This reminds me of another lesson taught by Jesus … the parable of the seed. It is the story of a farmer going out and planting his seed in various types of ground. He gave his disciples an explanation of what the various types of soil meant and the effect they had on the seed. “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.” (Matt 13:22)
I wonder how often my life has presented itself as the thorny ground? I hear God’s word but immediately get wrapped up in the worries of life. There is a lot I could learn from these birds feeding in the storm and the ones mentioned in today’s scripture. Jesus tells us that the birds aren’t worried about tomorrow. They aren’t overly concerned about building up their resources for retirement because they know that the feeder will be refilled for tomorrow, and the next day and the next. They aren’t concerned about which set of fine feathers to put on because they will undoubtedly be accepted at the feeder as they are.
The birds know the personal care of their provider. But the scripture today says something amazing … “Aren’t you worth much more than birds?” I have often looked at myself and said a resounding NO to that question. But it is when we focus & look upon the same Jesus who gave His life for us that we can know that there is One who places tremendous value on you & I.
I am grateful this evening that I can depend on the promises of my God. I am grateful that I am loved by Someone so amazingly perfect that I wonder how He could even look in my direction. I am grateful that I can trade the shame of this world for the love of Someone who would willingly give His life in order to purchase mine.
Jim Holmes says:
February 15, 2015 at 10:48 pmThere is far more to your and my life than the food that sustains it. Jesus told the disciples after talking with the woman of Samaria at the well, that he had food that they did not know …(John 4:32). What clothing may do to enhance your outer appearance is of little consequence compared with what is more to life itself. I am reminded that God’s ” loving kindness is better than life”. God so loved the world… Compared to the birds that are in God’s care, your life, my life, to live, is far more valuable. Why then do we worry and get so uptight about things? Jesus says to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. God wants us to know that he “cares” for us…all the time. God is our Chief Shepherd. He so wants to be one with you. Jesus taught us to pray “My” Father.
I am reminded of 1 Peter 5:7 which says that we are to cast all our care upon Him for He cares (for us) for you. We are to do this with a humble heart that can receive the grace that comes from God. We recognize Him as our Savior.
To know Him is eternal Life. It is this Life, that emanates from the Resurrection and the Life, Who is Jesus, our Treasure. And where our Treasure is, our heart is.
Again, Like the lady who had lived a sinful life in our earlier study, we find ourselves at the feet of Jesus, in a heart to heart communion with Him, becoming like Him. You are so precious to God. Think about it. 1st Peter 4:14 puts it this way: If you are reproached for the name of Crist, blessed are you for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. We need to keep this in mind also, from 1st Peter 4:13, that we…”do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings that when His glory is revealed you may also be glad with exceeding joy. More than this life, is Eternal Life which comes to us through Christ. More than our life is that God is glorified in and through His children.
Susan Craig says:
February 15, 2015 at 11:07 pmOur family has several pets and there are times I feel like I am in a zoo here-we have 3 cats,2 birds,1 rabbit and 1 dog. Sometimes I wonder where we are going to get the money to feed them all but it seems the Lord provides what is needed and in time for daily feedings-they have not missed a day being fed yet and when I really think about it,neither have the humans in our house. We have a roof over our heads,heat in the winter,clothes on our backs and food for our stomachs every day. God has blessed us and provided for our needs over the years. But there have been many times when worrying about being provided for was a big part of my life. My husband’s work over the years has been sporatic and his income not sufficient at times. I have to admit that there were many times I would be angry and disappointed that he was not the provider I expected him to be. Since I was a nurse, I would go to work and pick up extra shifts when I had to so we could pay our bills. We have 3 sons and I wanted to be at home more with them. I was frustrated and resented the fact that I had to work more than I wanted to. I really should have been thankful that God gave me the opportunity to work more when I needed to. Worry about having enough money to pay our bills was with me/and the burden of financial responsibility was on me constantly. Trust has been a big issue for me my whole adult life – I learned from experience that the only person in this world I could trust to provide for our needs was me. This put enormous pressure on me and stress because I was really not trusting in God to provide for us. I had read these verses and knew them from childhood but in practice I was not really believing them to be true for me because my life was so much harder than I expected. Over time I developed an illness that made working very difficult for me and nothing seemed to help with the symptoms of severe pain and fatigue. I felt so alone and abandoned by the God I was trying so hard to serve and obey. It has been over a year now since I had to give up nursing for health reasons and looking back, it has really amazed me how our needs have been met over this past year. I was 8 months with no income from me while I waited for my application for disability pension to be approved. The Lord intervened and provided for us as a family in many ways that I was not expecting Him to and I am so very thankful that He is so worthy of my trust in Him. I am able to look back and see how He has been with me all these years and even tho it was difficult, it was His strength that got me through it all. Worry and anxiety are a waste of our precious time and energy and it becomes a habit that has very negative effects on our health as well. I have an illness that has been caused for the most part by stress-the sad fact is that alot of that stress was caused by needless anxiety and worry that have been my constant companions for over 30 years. It has taken me a long time to realize that not trusting God to provide for me has been my part in the development of this illness. The Lord sometimes has to bring us to the end of our own strength before we can see what He is trying to teach us. Letting go of the worry and trusting God is the first step in the process of healing my body and my emotions and my spirit and maybe even my marriage. Insight and wisdom finally!! There is hope for me yet!! God takes care of those He loves-I know from experience this is true and from His word as well. Trust is my Rhema word.