Eye on the Sparrow

Most large traditional markets in Sumatra have a section for buying tropical birds. Birds are very popular pets here in Southeast Asia. The birds that the little boy in the picture is looking at are very common, very small, and not very expensive. Because of these facts these birds are often given to small children to play with. This is a good opportunity for the children to learn how to handle animals, but it does not always bode well for the birds.

The worker who took this photo remembers visiting a village and seeing one such bird in a cage being handled by a 2 year old. The two year old dropped the cage three times during a short visit. The poor little bird looked ready to have a heart attack. The little boy said, “aduh.” Roughly translated that means, “oh dear.”

This situation reminded the worker of the old song that says, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” As the little bird was put at the mercy of a toddler, he may not have felt watched over or protected by the All Mighty! Yet that is often what life feels like for God’s children who are trying to be obedient in a land where the majority of the people do not honor God’s Word or God’s Son.

Pray for new believers on Sumatra who often feel trapped in a cage of opposition and persecution at the hands of their family and friends.

Pray for new believers among Sumatra’s people groups who struggle with feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Pray for traditional fellowships that are caged by fear and tradition that keeps them from reaching out to the lost around them.

Pray for small house fellowships that face physical danger in order to gather and worship the Lord.

The cost of faithfully following the Lord in the United States is not nearly as great as it is on Sumatra. Pray for God’s Kingdom to come on our island despite the high personal costs! After all it cost Jesus His life blood to bring God’s Kingdom from heaven to earth.