The Healing of Our Hurts - Pt 3

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25-26 ESV).

One of my favorite movies from Disney is “Mary Poppins.” The remake starring Emily Blunt as the remarkable nanny will be released next year. I’m sure it will be on my list of must-sees. Just one of the scenes that I enjoy is the beggar woman who sits on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, selling bags of breadcrumbs to passers-by for a tuppence a bag so they can feed the many pigeons which surround her. This song is reported as having been Walt Disney’s favorite song. It reminds me of how God cares for the birds of the air, even when they haven’t planted anything. Sometimes it is through the “old beggar lady” sitting on the steps while at other times it is entirely different. It speaks of our second principle in healing our hurts: we must remember that God is not only able to guard you, but he also cares for you. Believing that truth leads us to real humility. That kind of humility causes a different behavior to bubble up from our hearts. Instead of defiantly hurling our affliction back at God, humility hands every anxiety back to him with affection and confidence. Humility refuses to treat God like an incompetent or unsympathetic boss, but comes to him, even in suffering, as a compassionate and invested Father. This is the meaning of Jesus’ teaching in our reading today. If your hope is in Jesus, all of your suffering will end one day. He says, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (v. 26). If we truly believed that the God who created all things, having absolutely everything at his disposal, cared for us like a Father, then we would not resist him and his will, even when life gets hard. I have often been seen as simple. Perhaps I am. I like being simple actually. Don’t misunderstand, simple does not mean easy. Hardships and tragedies strike with pain and difficulty that are real. However, the promise of God is the answer. My journey is simple. Go where He directs me to go, trust He is providing and protecting me from anything that seeks to destroy my life. Believing this keeps me from asking “why?” That question is so unprofitable. The question God wants me to come back to in every circumstance of life is “who?” And the answer is always Jesus! My “food” cost so much more than a tuppence; it cost Jesus his life on the cross. But having been purchased, I now have all I need!