The Comfort of Dead Birds (Part 2)

I don’t think we should take some peculiar pleasure in the death of animals. Native Americans killed many animals but had great esteem and appreciation for them and industriously made use of the meat, hides, bones, and more. Hunters today may not be as industrious, but they also esteem and appreciate the animals they kill. The death of an animal isn’t particularly comforting in itself. I’m drawing a thought from Jesus’ words in Matthew 10, comforting words highlighting God’s absolute sovereignty. I’m talking about God’s providence, how the death of birds can remind us of God’s providential care of us His people. Seeing a small dead bird along the trail can give us a sense of comfort because we know the bird fell to the ground by the providence of our heavenly Father. 

Could you explain the doctrine of God’s providence to a child so they could understand and delight in it? The Reformed confessions help us do just that! The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks in question eleven, “What are God’s works of providence?” It answers, “God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.” [1] Simple.

So, think about God’s providence for little birds. God preserves the lives of little birds. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that God feeds the birds of the air (Mt. 6:26). God also governs little birds – their location, flight patterns, migration, eating, etc. Every action of little birds is being preserved and governed by God’s holy, wise, and powerful will. And when a little bird’s days are up, it falls to the ground by the sovereign will of God. And the point goes: How much more does God value, preserve, and govern us? 

The Heidelberg Catechism provides a wonderful explanation of God’s providence. Question 27 asks, “What do you understand by the providence of God?” It answers:

God's providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come not by chance but by His fatherly hand.

See, God’s providence is God’s power. God’s providence is God upholding the universe by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3). God’s providence is God’s sovereign governance of everything. The colorful fall leaves are governed by God. The rains of Mawsynram, India, which happen to average about 467 inches per year, are governed by God. The soil which fails to produce enough food for the village is governed by God. The cancer revealed by the blood test is governed by God. Every dime of Elon Musk is governed by God. Nothing in this life is chance. Nothing is random. Nothing is meaningless. Nothing happens apart from our Father’s good and gracious hand. If this were not the case, life would be random, and God would no longer be God. 

What comfort can believers find in the doctrine of God’s providence? In his commentary on Matthew 10, J. C. Ryle gives us something to consider. Ryle said:

Those who try to do good must keep before their minds the providential care of God over them. Nothing can happen in this world without His permission. There is no such thing in reality as chance, accident, or luck. “The very hairs of their heads are all numbered.” The path of duty may sometimes lead them into great danger. Health and life may seem to be periled, if they go forward. Let them take comfort in the thought that all around them is in God's hand. Their bodies, their souls, their characters are all in His safe keeping. No disease can seize them,—no hand can hurt them, unless He allows. They may say boldly to every fearful thing they meet with, “You could have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above.” [2]  

Many will find the idea of God's providence unsettling because they do not trust God or His Word. But believers, God’s beloved children, so trust their good Father that they joyfully embrace His providence and take comfort knowing that whatever happens to them is their heavenly Father’s good will for them and that His loving Fatherly hand is in it and will use it for their good and eternal salvation. They realize that their comfort in God’s providence depends not on their ability to understand but in their trust.

The Lord Jesus Christ trusted in God’s providence for his life. As he approached the excruciating pain of the cross, his posture was “not my will, but yours, be done” (Lk. 22:42). God’s providence emboldens God’s children as they trust Jesus and persevere through suffering, for in suffering their loving Father provides them security and the grace and Spirit to live for His glory. God’s providence is safety and security for believers. Do you find comfort in it?

[1] Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851), 390.

[2] J. C. Ryle, Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/ryl/matthew-10.html.

Quotes from the Heidelberg Catechism are taken from Zacharias Ursinus & Jonathan Shirk, The Belgic Confession (Manheim: Small Town Theologian, 2024).

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