I am more like a Hummingbird

One of my favorite songs from years gone by is "His eye is on the sparrow". I remember when I was a little girl in our small country church that the pastor asked me to sing that in a Sunday evening service. The tender words of that song have given me comfort over the years.

Scripture mentions the sparrow several times. For example Luke 12:7 says "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Wow, talk about detail. God loves me enough to count the number of hairs on my head. And He loves me more than many sparrows. But, really now - sparrows? We don't see them as worth much when we consider birds. God is not one though to be charmed by the allure of the fancy birds like the peacocks or the know it all birds like the owl or even the soaring birds like the eagle. He compares his love for us to the common bird. In Matthew 12:29 the Bible states "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." Every movement, every detail of the life of the sparrow is controlled by the Father.

So I thought about this analogy. Am I a sparrow? Sparrows are little birds that seem to be at ease wherever they land. They don't seem too bothered by the noise and distractions of things around them. As long as there is food and shelter the little sparrow remains comfortable and happy. But, that doesn't really define me. I am more like the hummingbird. I dart in and out - never landing for more than an instant. Busily trying to get ahead, find answers and seek something to fill this aching hole in my heart. I never pause long enough to grasp the situation. To take it all in and determine if I need to stay longer or move on. Restless. Always looking for the next place to find the sweetness of life.

You know what though? Hummingbirds tire easily. They beat their little wings so rapidly to move their bodies from place to place. They get burned out and die. The sparrows on the other hand pace themselves. They know that they can get and receive all that they need from the hand of the Father. So, I have decided to retire my hummingbird wings and become a sparrow. If my Father cares for me so much to know the very number of the hairs of my head and if He cares enough to know that the tiny sparrow has fallen then surely I do not need to be driven by the need to flit from answer to answer. He is all I need. He is the Answer.


Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.


Refrain

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.


Verse 2

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.


Verse 3

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.