“REED” This

Looking Out My Back Door … Again

Have you heard enough about me looking out the back door of my office? Well, I have to share something else. For the past several days, I’ve noticed some small birds that seem to be feeding just outside the glass doors of my office. You’d have to put two side by side to be as big as my fist. The top feathers are medium brown in color with lighter, more tan colored feathers on the breast. There is a small white line above each eye and their beaks are slender, and almost as long as their head. I wanted to know what kind of bird they are and decided to search online, but found that there are a multitude of little brown birds in the world. Correctly identifying these little guys is almost impossible. They seem too big to be a sparrow, and their beaks are the wrong shape to be a finch. The best I can tell, they are a type of wren. It’s very difficult to determine. It’s so easy to recognize a cardinal, a blue jay, a blue bird, or a robin. But there are so many different types of little brown birds from the pictures I found on the internet, that determining exactly what these are is not something I can accomplish. Plus, when I try to get a good look at them, they don’t always stick around very long, especially when I walk towards the door.

The very first time I saw them and watched them foraging, I thought of how God was feeding them and taking care of them. I may not know the exact species of bird they are, but God does. He made them. And I’m sure He knows how many feathers are on each of their little bodies as He knows how many hairs are upon my head. I thought about the Scripture where it tells of how God the Father feeds the birds. In Matthew 6, Jesus is still teaching His sermon on the mount that began in chapter five. He begins to teach that we are not to worry about what we need for everyday life. When you come to verse 25 and 26 of chapter 6, He says, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are?” So many people worry about these things every day. I dare say some of us might worry too, at times. But we shouldn’t. All it takes is for us to stop and look out and see some birds. If we let Him, the Spirit will remind us of this passage. Then we can be comforted with His word and His promise that He will take care of all our needs.

I look out now as I’m writing this and there is another one of God’s precious creations. No bright colors, but simply beautiful shades of brown. This little bird doesn’t look worried or anxious. It is simply looking around on the ground, in and out between the blades of grass, until it finds something to eat. Then it quickly darts its head forward, snatches the morsel in its beak, and continues searching for more. We can learn from this little bird. It is living its life as its Creator intended. We can live our lives the way our Creator intended for us, and simply trust Him as we obey His word, follow His leading, and watch Him provide all our needs.

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Bro. Paul Reed

Tuesday, October 11, 2022