Rich Lindeman
Text: Matthew 6:26
Theme: "Proclaiming A Provider"
Observance: Thanksgiving Day
Date: November 25, 1999
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?
I was amazed and delighted this week on Tuesday morning to wake up to a
layer freshly fallen snow. Now isn't that strange? Here for weeks I have
been dreading it. I was praising God every day for the beautiful fall
weather we were having and I was hating the thought of snow ever coming.
But when it finally came I couldn't help but be amazed and thankful. This is
truly the work of God the provider. We may not always think of snow that
way… but this is Gods way of providing not only water and beauty for the
earth, but also nutrients and refreshment to all of nature that is needed.
Nature calls upon the Lord to supply all of its need.
This past summer the expression "Nature Calls" took on an entirely new
meaning for the Lindeman family. It started when a pair of Finches decided
to build their nest on the sill of our bathroom window. From then on we
really did hear "Nature Calling"… we really did hear nature calling: cheep,
cheep, cheep!
The first time that I became aware of it was on a spring day in early May.
My wife Jan came walking into the Living room with a big grin on her face.
"Rich, you’ve got to come over here and see this!" "Now be quiet", she said,
and so I followed her quietly into the bathroom. Carefully she twisted the
opening mechanism for the blinds of our bathroom window until we could see
out of it. And sure enough, there on the outside windowsill was a Finch
nest with half a dozen tiny eggs inside it.
The great thing about venetian blinds is that they are ingeniously designed
for privacy. If you adjust them to just the right angle, then a person on
the inside of the house can look through these blinds and see clearly
everything that is going on outside. But a person (or a bird, as the case
may be) standing on the outside of the house, is only blinded by them. What
a wonderful opportunity this was for our whole family to witness up close
the miracle God the provider.
In his sermon on the Mount Jesus suggested to his followers, "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?"
Matthew 6:26
Taking these instructions of Jesus to heart, for several weeks my family and
I made it a habit of watching this family of finches fortuitously perched
upon our windowsill. We watched carefully each day and were amazed by the
things we saw.
Every night we would see the mother bird come and sit upon her delicate eggs
to keep them warm. Our little girl Michele was especially excited when the
eggs began to hatch one by one. The tiny newborns were hardly more than an
inch in size and they all looked so helpless. Yet somehow their every need
was wondrously provided for. For example, we loved to watch the parent
finches feed their hungry brood by poking bits of food into tiny beaks as
they chirped eagerly for more.
I felt privileged to watch this ritual of springtime. Perhaps I was even
learning something from all of this and sharpening some parental skills of
my own.
Truly amazing was the day when one of the newborn birds decided to take off
and try flying on her own. The young bird strutted bravely along the length
of the window sill as her siblings watched and chirped at her, their heads
poking out from the safety of the nest. She flapped her wings with newly
formed feathers, and then all at once she leaped from the sill.
With a flutter and a pattern of flight which seemed a bit awkward she soon
came to the ground. Then suddenly as if from nowhere the mother bird landed
in front of her child. She was shouting excitedly at the young bird urging
her to be brave once again and to fly with her into the trees. Then up she
flew and soon her young followed.
It was at least a week before any of the other newborns ventured outside of
the safety of their nest. But God provided for them also as one by one they
took wing. And now their nest sits empty as a daily reminder to my own
family to be thankful toward God the Provider.
There is a special name for "God the Provider" in the Bible. In the Old
Testament it is called Jehovah–Jireh. This special name comes from a story
told in the life of Abraham. The account is recorded in Genesis 22. God
commands Abraham to offer Isaac his son as a burnt offering. Abraham doesn’t
understand and he loves his son dearly, but in obedience to God he takes
Isaac and sets out for the place where God had chosen for the sacrifice. He
binds his son and lays him on an altar. But as he is about to sacrifice his
son, God stops him. He commends Abraham him for his willingness to obey and
then in a miraculous way God provides a ram for Abraham to offer. As Abraham
offers the ram as a burnt offering to God, he calls the name of that place
Jehovah-Jireh. He had truly experienced the provision of God. He had come to
experience first-hand the reality that God could provide. And his heart was
filled with thankfulness. We all have places in our life that we might call
"Jehovah-Jireh"!
My wife and I are not yet "empty nesters", but soon we will be. Our
children are growing up quickly. And now several of them are beginning to
stretch their own wings to fly. Looking back over the years my heart is
filled with thankfulness as I see how God has graciously provided for our
family all that was needed along the way.
The attitude of thankfulness is a key ingredient for any Christian desiring
to witness or proclaim "God the Provider". A person who is continually
thankful for all the things that God provides in life is a natural witness.
There is nothing awkward or contrived about this persons testimony to God
because it flows from a thankful heart. Are you a thankful person? Then
you have what it takes to be God’s witness.
Here is a simple way for you to proclaim "God the Provider". Make it a
daily habit of verbalizing to those around your continual thankfulness to
God for: Food, Clothing, Home, Husband/Wife, Children, Family Life, Friends,
Health, Skills, Occupation, etc…
By verbalizing our thankfulness we not only become powerful witnesses to God
the Provider but we also nurture our own faith. However, for some of us
this a real challenge.
In the movie, Shenandoah, Jimmy Stewart plays the part of a farmer who
faithfully works his land and supports his family. He is not a very
religious man, but his wife is. He promises her as she lies on her deathbed
that he will continue the custom of saying table grace before each meal.
Every day he would pray this prayer: Lord, we came here and cleared the
trees. We took out the stones, and we broke the sod. We prepared the fields
and sowed the seed. We tended the crops and fought pestilence and weathered
the storms and drought, but we thank you anyway. Amen
Sometimes the struggles that we have in life cause us to become bitter and
resentful rather than thankful. At other times it is the extreme abundance
we have which spoils us and hinders us from being thankful to God. And so
the prayer in Proverbs 30:8-9: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give
me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and
say "Who is the Lord?" Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the
name of my God." That’s not the prayer of a lot of people. But it is the
prayer of a true Christian.
Long ago, Jesus referred to himself as "the bread of life." In our time
perhaps Jesus would have said, "I am the Pizza Pie…the French Fry of living.
But then again maybe not! He does not offer us junk food. But rather he
provides for us all that we need in life. What a tremendous comfort that is
to us in daily life. And what a powerful message that is to tell others as
we share our faith in God the Provider.