Living by Fate or Faith?

Years ago in England, my wife discovered a baby bird that had fallen from its nest onto our path. The poor thing had just hatched and looked like a spot of jelly staining the sidewalk! My wife asked me to clean it up before our boys started using it as a torture device for their little sister. As I got closer to the bird, I realised it was still alive.
As soon as my wife saw it, she said,

Pray for it, Ashley—it might live.

I thought, Send it home, Jesus! I don’t want to deal with this bird. When the mother didn’t return, I halfheartedly brought the near-death creature into our house and Googled how to care for a baby bird. Google said that baby birds are force-fed. So we rummaged up a coffee stirrer and forced cat food into the creature. Miraculously it took the food and started perking up. I thought this is awesome until I read that the bird had to eat every two hours—around the clock! There’s no way this bird is going to survive, I thought. I am not staying up all night to feed the stupid thing!

But as baby Christians (and parents of preschoolers), we did what we thought was right—we set the bird up in a box-sized hotel. It had blankets and desk lamps keeping it warm. It even got ‘round-the-clock room service! During the night, my wife heard an incessant “tweet, tweet…TWEET, TWEET.” She poked me awake, whispering,

The bird, Ashley. Go feed the bird.

“I don’t want to feed the bird,” I’d growl before stumbling out of bed to feed it again. All night long, it woke me. This lasted days…weeks…a month. The little thing was going to live! It even started sprouting feathers. Unbeknownst to me, my wife made that bird a test of faith. She prayed,

God, if You can make this pitiful little bird fly, I’ll believe anything.

So, we kept feeding it, and soon the bird started trying to fly. In Matthew 6:26, Jesus said,

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?

If God is dedicated to the provision of His creation, won’t He—as a good Father—care for my needs? If I can’t find His provision, I have to realise that He’s hidden my provision for me, not from me—provision is mine. So, as I go looking for work or new opportunities, I pray “Thank You, Father, for providing for me. Thank You for giving me favour, in Jesus’ name. I know my provision is settled and You have better things in store for me than I can even imagine.”

Remember today, you are worth more to God than the sparrows.