“Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground
without your Father’s consent.” (Matthew 10:29)
What
encouragement! Even when a tiny sparrow,
practically worthless in the eyes of many, falls to the ground, our heavenly
Father knows it, and it never happens without His consent (literally, “apart
from your Father” [HCSB footnote]). How
many of us have been encouraged by this thought, especially when the problems
mount?
The context
of the verse adds to its encouragement.
Jesus spoke these words as part of His challenge to His disciples, as He
was sending them out to minister. He
warned that persecutions would dog them.
He knew this would produce fear, so He told them not to be afraid. That would seem to be a little like a doctor
saying, “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt much.”
Still, He told them not to be afraid.
Our
heavenly Father knows everything we go through.
No detail escapes His notice.
Nothing will happen to us apart from Him, that is, apart from His
knowledge and consent, and although we may not comprehend that thought very
well, it says to us that whatever happens to us has no relevance to our value
to the Lord. It happens only according
to His purposes, which, like a sparrow, we simply cannot fathom. We only need to know that Jesus is thus
challenging us to trust God and His purposes.
Such trust
serves to free us from our fears. It
helps us to relax. It further frees us
to move forward in serving Him, whether the issues we face are small or great. So, keep moving toward trust.
No comments:
Post a Comment