A Light for My Path

There is an old gospel hymn written in 1905 by Civilla Martin and Charles Gabriel called “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” The first verse and chorus go:

Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely,
And long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free
For His eye is on the sparrow; And I know He watches me.

There are lots of references in the Bible to sparrows. Both Luke and Matthew recount the lesson Jesus taught about man’s value to God. He says God remembers every single sparrow so of course he knows everything about every person, down to the number of hairs on their head.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
(Luke 12:6-7 and Matthew 10:29-31)

Earlier in Matthew, chapter 6, Jesus talks about How God cares for and feeds the birds. And he will do the same for people, who are much more valuable than birds. So, we should not worry about our life. We are in God’s hands.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
(Matthew 6:26-27)

Why this focus specifically on sparrows? They are not very noteworthy examples of the avian kingdom. Sparrows are rather small and nondescript. Their coloring is dull; their song is not very tuneful; they are not rare.

But this is, in fact, the very reason Jesus used them as an example rather than a majestic soaring eagle, or a powerful hunting owl, or a magnificent colorful peacock. God cares for the lowly. He knows every feather on every single bird – even a small brown sparrow.

Just like He knows and cares about every single aspect of every human. Regardless of their station in life. Down to the number of hairs on each person’s head. Including me. Including you.

I can’t say that I don’t sometimes feel discouraged. And there have been many times when I was overwhelmed with worry and sadness, even to the point of longing for my Heavenly home. But, if I remember that Jesus is my constant friend, that God never takes His eyes off me, that He is holding me up always, then I can stop worrying.

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Laura