Another episode in our home construction saga.
The west wall of our house was ready to be stood up, but two men just couldn’t do it. The framing and the sheeting on a 22-foot wall add up to one heavy lift. How about using the little excavator to pull it up? Get the machine over the berms of dirt. Strap the wall to the bucket. Gently ease the wall upright. Nope. Can’t get it quite upright. Brace the wall where it is. Move the machine. Two men shouldn’t try pushing a 22-foot long wall upright. (Especially since one old guy has a sprained ankle.) Enter two ugly angels. (Ugly only in comparison to perfect angelic beings.) At exactly the moment of need, our husky soon-to-be-neighbor and his adult son appear out of nowhere. “Can we help?” And four men easily push the wall into place.
Wow, Father! What good care you take of your children. You know our limitations and kindly send help at the moment of need. I walked around the corner of our RV trailer out of sight of the men and stood still in quiet awe. My hand over my face, I thanked God for this amazing display of his loving care. Yet again I felt his kindness and his smile. As I open my eyes, the first thing I see is our friendly sparrow practically at my feet. Ah, yes, of course, the sparrow. The words from a negro spiritual come to mind. . . “His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me.”
When Jesus wanted to help us understand the unlimited ability of our heavenly Father to watch out for us, he made a statement that boggles the mind.
“What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31
Years ago we had a good friend who, in his early forties, had recently come to faith. Not having any religious background, he told me one day early in his spiritual journey that he had had to ask God for a favor that week which he said, he hated to do. “After all, I guess we only have three wishes, right?” Yet young in his faith, he had imagined God like a genie in a bottle. I was so delighted to explain to him the non-ending care and attention God lavishes on us every minute. How God delights to have his children come and ask him for their needs. How God invites us to constantly talk to him. He looked shocked. How could God be bothered with all of us asking all the time?
“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:1o-11
We all need help to grasp how limitless our God is. He isn’t like us, his creatures, in this aspect of his personhood. We can ask boldly because no detail is too small for him. We can ask unapologetically because he invites us to bring him our concerns. He never goes into overload. He is capable of keeping the heavenly bodies in orbit and holding together the atoms. Without breaking a sweat. His capacity has no limits.
We have to prioritize because we have limited resources. We have limited time, energy, wealth, and understanding. We have to choose the most important and let the rest go. By saying ‘Yes’ to one thing, we are automatically saying ’No’ to other things. We can only do so much. But not so with God. He can do it all. His resources are unlimited.
“O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!” Psalm 139
