I Know He Cares For Me

There is absolutely no doubt that I have more photos of birds than of any other animal! I never get tired of watching them and their antics, and, obviously, I never get tired of photographing them. The photo above of the white-throated sparrow is probably one of my all-time favorites. I guess that’s partly because it’s a beautiful little bird and partly because it reminds me of the scriptures that tell us how God cares for us, particularly Matthew 10:29-31. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Parallel passage in Luke 12:6-7) As I write this, I’m mindful of so many people who are suffering hardships at this time – loss of loved ones, life-threatening illnesses, family disagreements and break-ups, financial difficulties, and more. We aren’t told that a godly life will be an easy life, but Peter does tell us in I Peter 5: 7 to cast our cares on God because he cares for us. I pray that anyone reading these words will be comforted by the message they contain.

It seems that we have a natural tendency to worry, even when things are going well in our lives. I have memories of worrying about all sorts of things as a little girl – usually triggered from something seen on a television show like “The Waltons” or “Little House on the Prairie.” To this day, I don’t like to watch reruns of those shows – pretty silly, I know. What did all of that worrying do for me? Absolutely nothing!!! Except maybe give me high blood pressure. As a teenager, I often had high blood pressure with no physical reason for it. My doctor finally decided it was due to my nervous personality. Worry was literally harming my health! Throughout my adult years, I found myself worrying less and less. Well, let me rephrase that – I found that I wasn’t allowing my worry to consume me. Yes, I still worried, but, if I could do anything to fix what worried me, I did it. If not, I prayed about it and let it go.

What allowed me to do this? I think part of the answer was maturity and life experiences. I realized that every difficulty I faced had a way of coming to a favorable conclusion – even if I didn’t recognize it as such at the time. I realized that God deserved the credit for those outcomes and that I should rely more fully on him in the future. In the middle of the storm, you may think you won’t survive, but our God is faithful! There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that speak of his steadfast love and his faithfulness to us, as long as we seek him and trust him. (Don’t worry – I’m not going to share all of them!) Lamentations 3:22-25 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Psalm 32:10 tells us, “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.” How comforting these words should be – if we could only remember them during times of trial!

Another passage that teaches us the importance of placing our trust in God is found in Jeremiah 17:7-8. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” No worries! If we trust in God, he will meet our needs, which is also the message found in Matthew 6.

So let’s get back to the birds (which inspired my blog this week) by reading Matthew 6:25-34. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

It makes sense that these verses from Matthew, along with the one quoted at the beginning of this blog (Matthew 10:29-31) were the inspiration for the famous hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” Civilla D. Martin wrote the beautiful lyrics after visiting a sick friend. Here is her story in her own words:

“Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.”

http://dianaleaghmatthews.com/his-eye-is-on-the-sparrow/#.XiJvYMhKjIU

Just in case you aren’t familiar with Mrs. Martin’s song, I’ll share the lyrics with you.

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
when Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Refrain: I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
for His eye is on the sparrow,
and I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Refrain

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
when songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Refrain

Copyright – Public Domain

Some versions of the song change the phrase “and I know He watches me” to “and I know He cares for me” in the last verse, and that’s where I got my title for this blog post.

I know it isn’t easy to stop the worrying. It isn’t easy to maintain our faith during hardships. It isn’t easy to find joy in tribulations, yet James 1:2-3 tells us to do just that. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” How do we find joy during struggles?????? We first have to realize that there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is an emotion that is usually temporary and is based on external circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, as defined by Clark Tatum in his book Journey into a Joy Filled Life, “is the pleasure of knowing the blessings that flow from the fountain of God’s grace and mercy.” Joy is triggered by internal circumstances rather than external. As my preacher (Adrian Ayers) said in last Sunday’s sermon, “Joy is a favorable outlook produced by a life directed by God’s will,” and it can occur even in difficult situations. It is a wonderful feeling, a deep peace, that only comes from knowing God and his spiritual blessings.

We will still worry, we will still struggle with our faith at times, and we will still fail to rejoice in hardships, but hopefully meditating on some of the scriptures presented here can help. You may also ask yourself the following questions to help you find joy on your journey through this life (also from Adrian Ayers’ sermon last Sunday). (1) Why may God be allowing me to experience my present journey? (2) What is God teaching me in my present experience? (3) Who may God be leading me to today?

Sometimes people use the saying “this is for the birds” to refer to something that is useless or senseless. God’s watchfulness and care for us is definitely NOT just “for the birds.” Whenever you see one of these marvels of God’s creation, may you be reminded to cast your anxieties on him, and may you find peace and joy in your struggles, knowing that your reward is not to be found on this earth but in an eternal home with God – free from any sadness and hardships!

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