Open Your Mouth Wide. . .

"Open your mouth wide," says the Lord, "and I will fill it!" (Psalm 81:10)

It was an unlikely place to witness God's care for the world, but there it was, indisputable proof right before my very eyes.  Like the irony of the Savior of the world being born in a smelly animal stable, this mini-drama took place among oil spots and gasoline fumes, traffic noises and a bustling world.

I heard them before I saw them. It was their shrill cries that prompted me to look for the source of the noise.  At first I thought the sound was coming from the sparrow that was feasting on dog kibble that had fallen out of someone's car when they stopped to gas up.  But if it was the bird who was eating the dog food that was making the noise, why was she squawking?

As I watched her pick up the dog food in her beak, instead of swallowing it, she took it and ran with it. I traced her hops to the source of the birdie cacophony -- two fledgling babies that were big enough to fly, but still needed help filling their bellies.

Mama bird made innumerable trips back and forth from the dog food to the babies while I watched.  She didn't pick up the round whole pieces of food, but chose instead those pieces that had been crushed to a fine powder by the steady stream of cars that had come and gone from the gas station that morning, Tirelessly she fed first one pleading mouth then the other, never stopping, never out of order.  As soon as a baby swallowed its portion, it would begin to squawk again, its strident tone ignoring the mama bird's obvious commitment to persist until its belly was full.

I heard the voice of the Lord whisper His truth into my ear as I watched the sparrows that day.  He reminded me of the words of Matthew 6:26, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

I saw the Father-heart of God in the mama sparrow -- faithful, tireless, committed to provide for my needs.  He wants to give me not just something to fill my needs, but carefully selected provision that is just right for me.

I also saw the faithless-heart of myself in the baby birds -- panicked, strident, and demanding.  Despite being the recipient of almost half a century of God's provision, sometimes I still panic and act like God has never done a single thing for me.

Fellow traveler, will you join me in trusting our bountiful, generous, loving Father God to give us just what we need just when we need it?  Let us open our mouths wide so He can fill them!