Searching for Food in the Wall

While the Pastor was preaching, something caught my attention. Through a window I saw a sparrow pecking at a rough cement wall, and seeing that little creature aroused my curiosity

with the strength and determination with which it pecked. Evidently, there was something there that it liked—perhaps an unfortunate spider or some other insect. The point is that it had no intention of giving up on taking possession of what was important to it.

The next day, while I was in a meeting at work, I looked through the door leading to a reception room and once again saw a sparrow. But unlike the other one, it was idle, perched on the back of a large armchair, showing no interest in anything and in a place where it would have difficulty finding food.

And you may ask, “What do we have to do with these birds?”

Look at yourself—do you not see yourself? You search the Word of God to the point of exhaustion; you feel an overflowing passion to shout to others what you have seen and known; you long to seek God day and night; you know that He is important to you, and you are so excited to obtain the treasure that you never stop searching. You preach wherever you are; you need to speak, to tell others what you have, and you almost force them to accept what you are showing them, simply because you know that it is valuable—an incomparable gift with the prospect of eternity.

You peck away at the Scriptures, in solitude, on your sunny or rainy mornings, during your sleepless evenings, and even in your dreams, solely to obtain the most precious food: Divine Company, through the communion of the spirit. Your spring is bubbling over and flooding everything in its path.

Look at yourself again. It is still you, but now you are discouraged; idleness paralyzes you; you believe that God is no longer as close as you once felt He was; you do not feel the irresistible urge to speak and give away the supreme prize.

You are standing amid barrenness; it seems that the spring has dried up. You begin to behave differently without even realizing it; you begin to get entangled in affairs that are not your Father’s, and you cannot clearly discern where the nourishing food is. You mistake it for junk; your spirit groans and begins to suffer from malnutrition.

Be careful! You are on the verge of collapse. But there is good news. He has never been as close to you as He is now, because He knows that you are weak and that you were going to lose your way, and He is simply there, holding you up and drawing you away from the precipice: “Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Rom. 8:26

He has not changed, because He is immutable; He is not double-minded like you, and He is faithful unto death. He made a covenant with you, and even if you break it, He keeps it at the cost of His blood. You may quit; He will allow Himself to be killed to save you. Do you still think the comparison has nothing to do with you?