Long, Hard Look

Are you a bird watcher? 

Bird enthusiasts wish for more than a sneak peek. When catching a mere glimpse of a bird on the wing, they wish it had not flown away so soon. Given ample time, they could have gazed at the bird.

Jesus wants me to look, to take a long hard look at birds. I don’t need to record their color, markings, or to know their habitats or migration habits. The Lord wants me to look for all the ways that he meets their every need. 

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature (Matthew 6:25-27 NKJV)?” 

Jesus did not sugar coat his words. When a sermon convicts a church member, they frequently accuse their pastor of stepping on their toes. Jesus is not stepping on mine; he is applying gentle pressure to my mind. Why? Worrying reveals a lack of faith. —PamFord Davis

Christ Jesus, forgive me for wavering in faith. I have felt both conviction and comfort through your bird creatures. In your name, I pray. Amen.