What Falling Sparrows Teach Us About Trusting God

“…not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So, do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!”— Matthew 10:29–31 (GNT).

Photo by Cédric VT on Unsplash

Did you know the average human head has somewhere between 80,000 and 150,000 hairs? And that we shed about 50 to 100 hairs every single day?

Also, there’s no official Guinness World Record for counting every hair on one person’s head.

That’s probably for the best. Nobody should even think about doing that. It’s ridiculous and unnecessary.

Anyway.

Jesus says these words to His disciples before sending them out to preach the Gospel. He was preparing them, giving instructions, setting expectations, offering assurance, and also warning them: persecution is coming.

And then, He starts talking about fear.

In Matthew 10:26–31, Jesus says three times, “Do not be afraid.”

He tells them that not a single sparrow falls to the ground without God’s knowledge. But the verse does not say sparrows never fall. They do. Every day.

So, where is the comfort here?

The comfort is not that nothing bad will ever happen. The comfort is that nothing happens outside God’s knowledge.

God’s absolute sovereignty does not guarantee a pain-free life. It guarantees that whatever happens is happening within His full awareness. The sparrow is not the ultimate custodian of its own life. God is. Falling to the ground is not a pleasant experience, but even that fall is known by God. And because He knows it, He also knows its outcome.

The application of this illustration is “Do not be afraid."

When people talk about God’s sovereignty, they usually talk about power, control, His omniscience. All true. But rarely do we talk about sovereignty as comfort. If we think sovereignty means no falls, then we’ve misunderstood it.

We all fall. There’s no escape from that. God’s sovereignty doesn’t cancel evil or suffering, but it does extend over all of it. That’s why a sparrow can start its day flying freely. Nothing comes to pass without the Creator’s knowledge. And knowing that the Creator is also caring is the foundation of “Do not be afraid.”

Think about our daily lives.

If we start our day by carefully calculating/planning every possible scenario/risk in front of us carefully and meticulously with attention to every tiny detail, then we probably won’t be able to get much done because many things are unpredictable and a fall will never come with an announcement. If we focus on those things and become slow to the execution of important and necessary things in our lives (like in this case, disciples preaching the Gospel), then that’s already a victory handed to Satan.

Fearing humans, fearing the world is most definitely equals fearing Satan and God doesn’t like that. Satan likes to inject fear into us to cripple us. If he cannot stop us, at least he’ll try to slow us.

When we meticulously plan every step to avoid every stone and ditch in front us, then we’re relying on our minds (Proverbs 3:5) and this can lead to stress and unnecessary worldly yokes that are heavy compared to the yoke that Jesus has for us (Matthew 11:30).

So, leave the possibility of a fall, and the aftermath of that fall, in the hands of a caring Creator. Then get on with the day’s work. We’re more precious than sparrows. We’re called to fear our Creator and Comforter more than we fear worldly worries.

He knows us better than we know ourselves. Just like He knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Sometimes, when falls do happen, people often say, “Everything happens for a reason” or “God works in mysterious ways.”

But the truth is “In all things God works for good with those who love Him…”— Romans

8:28 (GNT). Not some things or few things but all things.

If someone loves God, they don’t love Satan.

If someone fears God, they don’t fear Satan or the world.

“No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). That’s the truth.

And “If we’re the world’s friends, then we’re God’s enemies” (James 4:4).

So, let’s live boldly. Not cravenly.

Let’s step out under His grace and mercy without fear.

Let us not keep track of the number of hairs on our heads every day. We have been assigned way more important things to do for Him while we live our lives on this planet!

Writing helps me slow down and listen better to God. Some of the reflections like this one are in my debut book, Seeing Through God’s Eyes: Discerning Biblical Wisdom for Faithful Living, available for FREE. The download link(s) are here, if you feel like checking it out.

Thanks for reading!

© Dr. Anudeep Manne