Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Psalm 84:3
My parents are bird watchers. They can tell you of both the male and female versions of red-winged blackbirds, cardinals, blue jays, wrens, finches, mockingbirds, hummingbirds, chickadees, and woodpeckers. Their backyard is an oasis for all types of birds, with many varieties of flowering bushes, trees, bird feeders, and a tiny heater to keep their bird bath from freezing in the winter. They love birds… that goes without saying… and to show that love, they keep diligent watch over them and actively care for them.
God is also a bird watcher. The Bible says He feeds them and provides them a nesting place. It says He knows every bird in the hills and watches over them. He is good to them and showers them with His compassion. Not one of them falls to the ground without Him knowing… and these are just tiny birds. How much more does He care for us?
In Matthew 6, Jesus said, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are?”
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6-7
I’ve read in one place or another outside of the Word of God that we have no value to God apart from Christ. While I understand where these authors may be coming from, I would like to refute that statement and say, we DO have value to God BEFORE we accept Christ. It is a value freely set on us by Him and for His glory, not of our own merit. He did this because He is love and He loves us.
While it is true that God desires to save us, through Christ alone, because we cannot save ourselves, He is not looking at us with disgust saying, “I hate these worthless humans, but for My glory, I will save them” [nearly a direct quote from one source]. That’s not God’s voice.
So many of us live under a heavy weight of condemnation, guilt, and shame, thinking that’s the Lord’s anger or dissatisfaction with us, but it simply isn’t true. While the Lord does correct His children just like any good father would, His correction comes from His loving kindness and helps us move toward repentance and change. His correction, while challenging at times, is never condemning, and never heavy or hopeless. That is also not God’s voice.
To hear the Father’s true voice, we must go to His Word and ask Him for His help. “Lord, help me hear what You are really saying to me and NOT what the enemy wants me to hear, in Jesus’ name.”
Here are a few places to start…
The Lord is extraordinarily patient toward us, not wishing for anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). He is rich in mercy toward us because of His great and wonderful love for us, even when we were separated from Him because of our sins (Eph 2:4-5a).
The Bible says we were God’s creation… even before we accepted Christ. Ephesians 1:4 says He selected us for Himself as His own before the foundation of the world was even set in place. Verse five says He lovingly planned for us to be adopted into Himself as His own sons and daughters through Jesus Christ because of His kind intention and the good pleasure of His will.
From His Word, I know that my Heavenly Father saw my entire life from the beginning and set in motion then my unique and individual rescue story. His plans didn’t come into being when I accepted Christ. God valued what He created in me and what He planned for me before time began. He saw my redemption and spoke it into existence before He formed me in my mother’s womb. He planned in advance for me to become His daughter.
It’s the same for you. If He does it for one of us, He does it for all of us (Acts 10:34, 2 Cor 1:20). You are worth more than you realize.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…
Jeremiah 1:5
He values you in relationship. Just as the sparrows find a home in Christ, that is His desire for you, as well. He desires relationship with each of us, and longs to hear our voices in intimate moments of worship and prayer. He wants us to really and truly know Him, the real God of the real Bible, and make Him known to others. He desires that we abide in Him so He can lift our heavy burdens and fill us with His type of joy. That joy is a knowing on the inside that He is with us no matter what we face in this life, and He is taking care of everything that concerns us. We’ve truly been through so much… in His presence, we can lay our weapons down and find rest for our souls.
He values His calling on your life. Every person created by God has a calling on their life, though so many miss what He created them to do. You were created for a purpose, set apart to do a special work for the Lord that was planned just for you. It starts with using your natural gifts and talents, and then blossoms from there into surprising things you did not expect! It is the Lord’s desire that you complete the work He designed you to do. Sure, maybe someone else can do it… but they won’t do it like you would, with your eyes and your smile and your personality. Plus, they have their own work to do for the Lord. There’s room at His table for all of us!
The Father desires to work with you and through you, because He wants a relationship with you. He desires to bring you JOY and PEACE that passes all understanding.
He values your life. Life doesn’t always turn out the way we thought it would. So many things break down, leaving us to pick up the pieces over and over again. How can we say God is good when all of these bad things happen all over the world? How can He be good when we experience overwhelming loss even under His sovereignty and grace?
You might have heard it said that we live in a fallen world, and that is true. The battered heart will say, “God doesn’t care about me. He has proven that by what I have experienced. He is not with me. I’m not sure He even exists at this point. Where is God in my life?”
For those who are broken and hurting in this way, I want to say this… He’s right there with you. The life you’re living right now is the life He wants to save you from. That’s why He sent Jesus to die on the cross. We have a real enemy who wants you beaten down and destroyed. That’s why your life has looked the way it has up to now. Your heavenly Father… the One who designed you, created you, and has valued you from before the beginning of time… wants to set you free from the weight and burden of sin and give you a new life in Christ. He wants to give you a new heart, a new spirit, and a new way of thinking.
He has seen all you have been through, and it has hurt Him, too. Will you begin to trust Him today? If you will ask Him, if you will take one tiny step of faith in His direction, He will prove Himself to you just like He does to the birds of the air and the animals of the field every single day. Are you not worth more to Him than these?
Maybe you don’t know it, but you are. You are worth more to Him than many sparrows. In fact, you are worth the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus… freely given to all who choose Him. Will you trust Him today?
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12
Broken & Sown 