Fear not (Part 1/30) - The worthless Sparrow

Are you fearful? Is there a lot that you are afraid of? Well, God made provision against this: Scripture contains about 100 times the encouragement "Fear not". In this series, we want to consider 30 of these Bible verses. Today, we start with Matthew 10:29-31.

Jesus' hearers knew exactly what he was talking about. When they went to the market to buy sparrows, the market criers would shout the following bargain: "2 sparrows – 1 cent! 5 sparrows – 2 cents!" (Luke 12:6, 7). This means that these little birds were of so little value to the sellers that if you bought four, you simply got one for free. Sparrow number 5 was free. One more or one less made no difference to the pet dealers.

Why are we suddenly talking about a small bird in a book about fear? Well, because that's what the Lord does. He takes this creature, which is worthless to everyone, to explain something to us.

Because even if no one was really interested in these little birds, our heavenly Father does just that. He even takes notice when one of them falls to the ground in a little bush far away. As Spurgeon so aptly put it, "God even goes to the funeral of a sparrow. Even though no one cared about these "worthless" birds, God did!

And now the encouragement for us: You are even more precious to me than those precious birds! If God does not forget a bird, how can he forget you? What reason for fearlessness do we see here? That God is interested in you and me. Especially when we feel like a "bird for free" that has been ignored and sold, we can think of God's attention.

One of the ways He shows His interest is by paying attention to our lives:

• He counts all our hairs (Mt 10:30) – about 100,000-150,000 (including those that may fall out because of worry or age).
• He counts all our tears (Ps 56:9) – according to scientists, an average of 5,000,000 in a lifetime (including those shed unnoticed in silence). 
• He counts all our steps (Job 31:4) – at an average of 5,000 per day, that would be 146,000,000 steps in 80 years.

I love my family, but I don't know the number of their hair, let alone their tears or even their steps. Well, our Lord in Heaven is so interested in us that He knows even this (and much more).

This attention and consideration from the Lord is evidence that He cares about us (1 Peter 5:7). Do you feel like a "worthless" bird? – The Lord values you! Do you feel inferior or worthless like a "free bird" (sold at the market)? – The Lord gives you infinite value! Do you feel like a fifth wheel, like a fifth bird? – The Lord is looking at you!

The Lord Jesus is telling you today: "Do not be afraid! Your heavenly Father is interested in you. You are valuable, you are noticed. God notices your whole life!"