My wife and I were walking in a grassy field in Australia. We passed a fence that enclosed some horses calmly grazing, when suddenly we heard a pitiful racket. A small sparrow was tangled in some string. Somehow its foot had gotten caught in a string that was dangling from the wire fence, and the sparrow was flapping and spinning around, trying its best to get free, to no avail.
We tried to get close enough to free it, but the helpless thing would have none of that. The closer we got to it, the more it squawked and flapped in frantic desperation. My wife and I looked in our pockets for something that would cut the string. She found a key, which cut the string without any trouble. The sparrow flew away as fast as it could without ever looking back to thank us.
Sometimes we might feel like that sparrow. We feel trapped in hard circumstances and conditions. It seems that when we’re least prepared, troubles come calling. Maybe we get laid off at work, are stricken with illness, or argue with someone we love. Maybe we get hit with depression, pressures at work, or financial difficulty.
Perhaps if we remembered the plight of this little sparrow it would help us realize that God is always there for us, just as He is for the tiniest bird. “Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it” (Matthew 10:29 NLT), He is always trying to help us—if we would only let Him. Trusting in God means that our spirits are freed from worry and can be at rest, knowing He will work things out. All we need to do is believe and receive His help from heaven. Like the sparrow, we can experience a happy ending to our troubles.