“Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young—Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God” (Psalm 84:3 NKJV).
Lately we’ve been sleeping with our bedroom window open. The twittering starts (or at least I notice it) around 5:00am. I lay there and think I have the best deal. Camping without actually camping! Hearing the birds chatter while still sleeping inside. And boy did they have a lot to say, the dove’s mourning cry, the mocking bird sharing a variety of dialects, and that one squawker to remind me not all bird sounds are pleasant. It is an elusive thing nowadays to find a place free from the noises of humanity. Thankfully at 5:00am people are kind enough to not start mowing their lawns yet in our neighborhood. Once the first one cranks up for the day, the droning will continue until dark. Even going out into the woods, if you go along a trail, you will most likely meet someone else, hear them, smell their campfire, or worse, their cigarette smoke.
When we move, our apartment will be backed by woods, but we will not be terribly far from a busy thoroughfare. And of course in an apartment, we will be in much closer proximity to other people… a lot of other people! I doubt I will be able to sit on my couch with the door open and hear the birds or smell the cool morning breeze wet with mist. Life will be considerably different. As I look around at all the stuff we’ve packed and the boxes littering every corner of our house, I can’t help but be a little sad. A great many things have changed for us in the past couple of months, some things we did have control over, some things that were fall out from initial decisions, and some unexpected things life threw at us. But Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29, 31 ESV). If God cares for the tiny birds so much that He knows what happens to each one then how much more does He care for you and me and for all people?
As Psalm 84:3 says, the sparrows have found nesting grounds near the altar of God, meaning they too, as insignificant as they might seem, receive protection and comfort staying close to God. We should remember that no matter where we go or what happens we can always make our home near the altar of the Lord. So the next time you stop and listen to the birds, I pray you will think about the above scriptures and know that God is right beside you, wherever you are, should you choose to make His altar your home.