The Sparrow’s Song

Louie Giglio kicks off CERTAINTY by telling us the story of Hagar and the sparrow in Psalm 102. He teaches us that although we may feel like the sparrow on the roof, alone and isolated, God sees us and is with us in the midst of it all.

The entire world is operating out of uncertainty. So what can we bank on in our lives?

It is a certainty that God sees you.

Psalm 102:1-11 focuses on verse 7. The word for "bird" can also be "sparrow". Some commentators say that bird is more appropriate because it's an ordinary average bird, but others say sparrow makes more sense in this text because the sparrow, which would normally always be with other birds, feels alone and isolated, emphasizing the anguish of how the writer feels.

Genesis 16 plays this out. Hagar felt this way. Sarah, in her flesh, tries to manipulate a situation that ropes Hagar into the plan. When Hagar is pregnant with the child that Sarah thought she couldn't have herself, they both grow bitter against each other. Sarah mistreats Hagar, causing her to flee. In Genesis 16:7, an angel of the Lord appeared to her in the wilderness. He tells her he is going to have a son and be named Ishmael, which means the Lord hears. Her misery has been heard by the Lord. In Verse 13, Hagar gives a name to God.

This is the only time it is recorded that a man or woman gives a name for God. He usually always reveals a name to us. She calls him El Roi, the God who sees me. He doesn't just see, He sees me. She was at a spring by the road to Shur, and the Lord knew it. That is great news. Your misery has been heard by the almighty God, and He sees you. She's on the road to Shur, which sounds like sure. Sure is certainty. God was going to take care of her.

Adam and Eve lived this reality, too. They had bought the lie that something was better than God. They instantly were aware of their shame and jumped into the bushes. We cannot hide from God.

When the prodigal son was a far way off, the father ran to him. The son could not hide. God's name is El Roi, the God who sees me.

Jesus spoke of sparrows in Matthew 6:25-27, 33, 10:29-31. A sparrow was called a "little bite" because the meat they provided to eat was such a small amount, just a morsel. God is aware of every little bite, every sparrow that falls, they are not off God's radar. Yet, they were not created in God's image, made in His Spirit and likeness, to be in a relationship with Him, bought by the precious blood of Jesus, paid for by Jesus so they could have a relationship with Him. But we were. Do we think God doesn't know every little thing about us or care about us?

He invites us to be near Him. Psalm 84:1-2, 10. God's house is where we want to be. Verse 3 speaks of the sparrow being near to God, near the altar, by the Holy of Holies.

The enemies lies:

1. Because of your situation, God does not see you.
2. God doesn't care.
3. Why pursue God when everything in your life in a mess?

The Song of the Sparrow

1. God sees me.
2. He cares.
3. God is near.

Psalm 73:25-28 says that everything else that's near to you doesn't matter as much as having God near you. The NASB says, "The nearness of God is my good."

We don't know how the sovereign timeline is working, but we know the Sovereign God is near to us.

Practical Shifts- Atmospheric Altering Confessions

1. You can confess and believe that you are still in God's sight, not stuck in a story.
2. Worry wastes the wonder of knowing you're in the Almighty's sight.
3. Confidence springs from the conscious decision to recognize and acknowledge that God is with you.