I Am Amazed

There are some Scriptures in the Bible that absolutely amaze me.

Matthew 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.” (NIV) A sparrow worth ½ cent, but God is so aware and cares so much not one of them dies without God giving the okay! How many sparrows die in a year? I don’t know for sure. I heard that there are 6000 species of sparrows. 15 million sparrows invaded Sweden one year. It’s the first bird to chirp in the Spring. In the state of Iowa sparrows eat up 800 tons of grain a year. Those farmers won’t pay tithes, don’t want the church to have it so God feeds His birds with it. But I don’t know how many die in a year. Let’s assume something really reasonable. If 15 million invaded just Sweden one year I can’t imagine how many must be in the world. So it is probably very conservative to assume that one million die in a year. That means that every 32 seconds a sparrow somewhere in the world dies and the Bible says not one of them falls from the sky (dies) “apart from the will of God.” Not just that God knows about it, but He give consent to it!

Another amazing Scripture. 1 Praise the LORD... He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Psalms 147:1-4 (NIV) Some days it is a challenge for me to remember my own name, and God knows the name of every star! On a clear night you can see 6000 stars without the help of telescope or other instruments. God knows all their names! Scientists estimate that there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone. Multiply that by 10 to the power of 12 to estimate the number of stars in the universe. God knows their names!

You think... maybe... if God controls the life span of insignificant, even annoying sparrows... if not one of them falls to the ground without His permission... if God determines how many stars are in the universe, names them, and REMEMBERS their names... just maybe He is aware of what is going on in our lives (His prize creation) and cares deeply about what is happening to us... you think... maybe... just maybe?

I think, YES! He cares, He knows, nothing about us escapes His attention and care. We can trust Him, but trust Him we must. We can’t control Him, question Him, doubt Him, get angry at Him, throws things at Him (I guess we can, but we shouldn’t). We just need to TRUST Him.

Here’s another Scripture that amazes me. I was amazed to find out that anything could cause God to be amazed. God, who knows everything, controls everything, created it all is amazed! Listen, “And He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor [no one to intervene on behalf of truth and right]; therefore His own arm brought Him victory, and His own righteousness [having the Spirit without measure] sustained Him. Isaiah 59:16 (AMP)

God, knowing that He stands ready to hear and answer the prayers and intercession of His people is amazed when we go through life struggling, battling the elements of life and fail to pray, to intercede. We should be amazed that we are so slow to ask of Him. He did tell that if we’d ask we’d receive. James tells us that we do not have because we do not ask. Let’s get busy doing what is most effective, most important. PRAY.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for thinking you have forgotten us when You care so much about a little sparrow, but consider us much more valuable. Forgive me for questioning Your care and concern when you even remember the names of stars. Surely you have not forgotten mine and where I am. Forgive me for worrying and not praying, for waiting until the moment of desperation to pray. Today I am thanking you for the comfort I have in knowing that You know and care, and the confidence I have that I can pray and be heard in heaven. AMEN.

Blessings!
Pastor Roger