Have you been looking out your windows lately? Lots of things are going on as we transition to winter. As I have been told many times over the years by fellow Christians, “Watch out, Jeff, the squirrels are gathering nuts for the winter.”
God has given squirrels amazing talents. I have been observing them checking out some black walnuts I dumped in the yard a few weeks ago. It seems that after just a few sniffs, some they take and others they leave, and there are still a couple laying there. We see the same activity from humans in the produce section of the grocery store. I still can’t figure out what differentiates a good cantaloupe from a bad one, and I used to work in the produce department.
Squirrels are an excellent example of the symbiotic world God created. Like bees spreading pollen, they spread the nuts, and don’t always dig them up, and thus we have more trees. I don’t know how often they forget. I’ve seen them digging through six inches of snow for a buried nut. How’d they know where to dig? If you want more hardwoods, pray for forgetful squirrels.
If you think about it, God created one incredible universe. Psalm 104 elaborates on this in some detail and sums it all up with verse 24a, “O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all” (NKJV).
Not only did our Almighty God make it all, but there is one more important detail brought forth in His Holy Word. “Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast” (Ps. 36:6). God keeps all this going. Not only is He the Great Creator, He is also the Great Sustainer of life! Isn’t it amazing that he created squirrels to save up nuts for future use?
We must remember this in those critical times when we get anxious about the future. Did your favorite politicians win? Are the COVID numbers going up? Are you worrying? How much toilet paper is in your closet?
We will be all right. Remember Jesus’ words, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7).
When Jesus addressed these earthly anxieties in the Sermon on the Mount, he emphasized priorities, “Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:31-33). All I can add is, “Go and do likewise!”
Jeff Greene, minister for the South Stokes Church of Christ