Always There
Chatty, my bird-stalking cat, caught a sparrow today, probably a fledgling. My cat, of course, brought her prize to me–that is to say, she brought the bedraggled bird into the house and proceeded to play with it. I scooped it up, took it outside, and placed it high on an ivy trellis. If the disheveled bird had just stayed put, my prowling cat would have grown tired of the hunt and it would have been safe. I could see the big picture of protection and shelter, but the frantic bird could not. So off it flew, not soaring upwards, but gliding downwards, right back into the waiting maw of my eager-to-play cat. Needless to say, the cat was the sparrow’s undoing.
This real-life drama seems to me a metaphor for what occurs in our own harried lives. We Christians often find ourselves in ruffled-feathered circumstances we do not understand. God, however, sees the big picture and wants to lift us above the danger. But what do we do? We struggle with our problem alone and end up caught by the devil’s schemes as he ”roams the earth seeking whom he can devour.” If the sparrow had trusted me, it would have been safe; just as if we trust God in threatening situations, we too can stay out of harm’s way.
So the next time you feel like flying off and trusting your own solutions, remember, God has His eye on the sparrow–and on you.
by Jonnie Wright
