Eager Expectation

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” —Matthew 6:25, 26, NKJV

It was springtime, and a mother robin had decided to build her nest between the upper downspout and the gutter of our house.

Every morning, as I sat at my breakfast table, I saw this faithful mother bird bringing her tiny offspring their breakfast. As she approached the nest, it was such a beautiful sight to see the baby birds lift their heads with eager expectation and open their mouths to receive their food. These babies had no choice in their menu and did not know what their mother had brought. The helpless chicks depended on her for survival. Gladly, they received their food, believing she would not bring them anything harmful. Mother robin knew just what her babies needed and brought only that which would satisfy their nutritional needs.

She was doing her duty faithfully because that was her nature. God is like this and more. His nature is love. As farmers prepare for planting, they eagerly expect the seed to germinate and produce a bountiful harvest. They have come to expect year after year that the sun will rise every day and the rain will fall in its season. Both are necessary for the growth, development, and maturity of their crops. With eager expectation, we wait and trust our daily needs will be met by God. Just like the mother robin, He knows what is good for us.

Just as the baby robins opened their mouths to receive from their mother, we are encouraged to open our hearts and minds for God to pour out His blessings and fill us with His Holy Spirit, His love, and His goodness. He forbids us to worry because He knows our needs even before we ask. What we will receive will far exceed our expectations because He has promised to do for us “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV). Therefore, let us surrender all our cares and anxieties to God and wait with eager expectation on our faithful heavenly Father.

Lydia D. Andrews