Birds: God’s Faithful Sign of Trust

This Christmas, my family gave me this new bird feeder. It not only feeds but videos them as they come to feed. How wonderful the tech world can be.  

I have always been a bird watcher and my favorite urban bird is a cardinal. When I lived in Nashville for eight years, a male and female cardinal came to my office window every morning. Cardinals are generally monogamous and mate for life, reminding me of my covenant with Betsy.

When Jesus first appears and begins to teach and show us the Father, He speaks about two of the most delicate and vulnerable species in creation: The birds of the sky and the flowers of the plant kingdom. I want to share concerning the birds.

Some years ago, a very dear brother was led to get up very early, just before daybreak, and walk his dog. In our fellowship, he shared how at a specific time the birds would begin welcoming the morning. He was astounded by how loud they were and the silence of the night being broken with their singing.

At least once a week I am up at around 4:30 and the birds of our neighborhood begin their chorus of greeting the day.  It is not just a few peeps, but every bird making its powerful sound filling the dawning of the day. Jesus reveals their complete freedom from worry. They are a sign to us of their total trust in the Heavenly Father.  He says,

”For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? You of little faith! “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:25-26, 28-30, 34 NASB2020

Webster’s 1828 definition of reason: “The cause, ground, principle or motive of any thing said or done; that which supports or justifies a determination, plan or measure.” All of creation declares and reveals the glory of God.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. – Romans 1:20 NASB2020

In Genesis 1:28, the first time God blesses, are the birds of the air and fish of the waters. Be fruitful and multiply is also His first command, as He later spoke to Adam and Eve. They are blessed and are a sign of the Father’s eternal power and divine nature given to every part of creation. Every morning, they faithfully declare and sing His praises for His faithful provision.  

The Bible includes passages that describe creation praising God, such as Psalm 148, Psalm 69:34, and Luke 19:40.  Psalm 148 records a list, including the winged fowl, of all of creation praising Him, declaring, “Praise The Lord!”

Heaven and earth shall praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them. – Psalm 69:34 NASB2020

So, every morning the smallest of creation sing their chorus of praise and their message includes the reminder to not worry. For if He cares for the birds, how much more important are you than them. Oh you of little faith, see the birds praising the Father as the great provider.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord And to sing praises to Your name, Most High; To declare Your goodness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, – Psalm 92:1-2 NASB2020

Praise the name of the Lord! Hallelujah!

-Keith Curlee