Sometimes I forget to watch for what God is doing for me. I get involved with the business of life. I try to do what I have to do and keep up with those things. And that can be a bit discouraging. My life seems so ordinary at times. Nothing special happens. God doesn't seem to have much influence on my daily life. It just seems to go on without much influence from Him. But there is a But!
According to some Christians, God is interested in the details of our lives because of his love and his greatness:
His Love: God cares about the small things that preoccupy us because he loves us. His Greatness: God is so great that he controls even the smallest details of the universe, including everything we are, including plants, animals, and the environment Luke 12:7: "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. God takes the time to keep up with how many hairs I have—now that’s a God of detail!
God pointed out to me that there are blessings right in front of my eyes—if I open them. I have regretted not being able to enjoy the summer outdoor things in our yard but this week I looked out my window and there was beauty! This bit of beauty surprises me every year. They are flowers that suddenly make an appearance in full bloom where there was seemingly nothing. This unique flower sends up its foliage in the spring and has lovely smooth green leaves into summer. Then those die away, and suddenly, in the late September/early October or even August, seemingly overnight, a flower spike rises from the ground (or from the dead leaves, thus the resurrection part of it all) and gives you beautiful, showy soft pink flowers. The names come from the plant's unusual growth pattern, where strap-like leaves appear in the spring and die back in late summer, and then flower stalks seem to rise from the dead in late summer or fall without any foliage. The blooms are said to resemble spider legs, which is another origin of the name "Spider lily". They are also known as Pink spiders, Pink flamingos, Surprise lilies, Naked Ladies, Resurrection lilies, August lilies, Hurricane lilies, Pop Up lilies, Mystery lilies, Disappearing lilies. Each one of those names describes how they act or look to different people. I grew up knowing them as Fairy lilies. I did not understand about them as back then I never saw them in the spring when only foliage. But suddenly in late summer, there was a planter filled with pink flowers! Now I understand why they are called mysteries and Resurrection flowers. This week mine were resurrected and were beautiful when I suddenly spotted them. They weren't and then, they were! I could not help but see the comparison to our resurrected Jesus. He had been sleeping in the grave and there was nothing left for His disciples but to mourn His absence. Then suddenly, there He was and He appeared to them as a newly resurrected body and person.
These past weeks my husband (one of my drivers) and I have made many trips to a hospital for cancer surgery and to a clinic where I receive radiation treatments for cancer. We know the road by heart and know when to look for certain landmarks and things that briefly hold our interest. But overall, there is nothing exactly new to see. We have seen the seasons change. We have seen flooded areas and have seen those areas now appearing dry. Where there had been flooded areas along the Mississippi River when we first started going is not flooded now! They are looking rather dry. But left to survive are the pond lilies with beautiful white flowers among the lily leaves. They too remind me that through plenty and through drought, our God does not leave us to drown or wither away in trouble. He will see us through to the end.
While we know the way home, my husband recently ventured off the main path home and treated me to side trips. We searched and found something he remembered being in a town we went through. New location, same product. Reminded me that God does not change, He stays the same no matter where we go—even if we go far away from Him. He is still within our call.
We decided to refresh our memories of a small town that we have visited before to enjoy some of their history. As we refreshed our memories, we noticed a small church and cemetery on a hill. It seemed to invite us to drive closer. It was then that we noticed it was an historical church that had been established in 1878. The name of this church on the hill that is no longer being regularly used is the Advent Christian church. We could not help but think back to our Adventist heritage and how our early pioneers looked forward to the 2nd Advent of Jesus. The members of this small church on the hill must have been looking forward to His return also. They are our brothers and sisters and are sleeping waiting for the Resurrection Day as much as we are waiting for His 2nd Advent and the soon coming Resurrection Day.
Around where we live, we have noticed so many dead trees. They suddenly died last summer and during the previous winter, they all lost their leaves making them very noticeable this spring and summer. Having caught a disease, every single tree of that species has appeared to be dead. They need to be taken down to make our area to look beautiful and lush again instead of unsightly dead wood that will continue to drop and cause trouble. But I have been noticing, almost every tree seems to be resurrecting itself. While they all looked dead, now many have new growth coming to life around the base of each one. They will continue to live and eventually be beautiful again. God promises to give us new life and to have a beautiful life when he comes to resurrect and make all things new again. Many times, Facebook likes to remind me of things that are a memory. I enjoy this and always wonder what I was doing 1--2--5--6--or even 7 years ago. This week, I was reminded that we were in Montana 7 years ago. We spent Sabbath in one location where man has altered five nearby waterfalls along the Missouri River for his own purpose. All five beautiful falls have been drowned or altered by dams and power plants. What God created with beauty, man has destroyed for the gain of money. It made us sad that man thinks he knows better than God. He cannot create something better than the original creation. I look forward to God's remake of this world into the New Earth.
On another of our side trips we discovered a plant that we did not recognize. Some ID searching followed and we discovered it was a type of hyssop plant and smelled like anise or licorice. The hyssop plant is mentioned numerous times in the Bible, and it’s always in connection with the idea of cleansing or the forgiveness of sins. David wrote about it in Psalm 51:7 when he asked for forgiveness after committing adultery: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Googe what this plant looks like and understand its significance in Scripture, especially as it makes an appearance while Jesus hung on the cross dying for our sins. David asks the Lord to purge him with hyssop to make him clean and to wash him to make him whiter than snow. To purge means to purify by removing a stain. Hyssop was a plant that the priests used in ceremonial cleansings. This plant that was new to us had lessons to teach us. We need to purify ourselves, to make us clean, to be whiter than snow with no record of past sin.
One more thing reminded us of our spiritual life. Our sons have very busy lives. And recently one has become so busy that he has found it hard to find time to make phone calls. And we have missed his calls and notes that let us know all is well. So, this past week, we decided to call and let him know that we have been missing him! I think he knows again that we love and care about him. We needed to hear his voice and to hear about what is important in his life and what are problems. That is pretty much what God wants from us. He longs to hear our voices, to know our problems, what is important, what makes us happy or sad. He wants to hear our thankfulness and love for what he has done for us. He also wants to hear about what we need.
Throughout Scripture, we see that God is interested in more than just the highlights of our lives as His children. He cares about every aspect of who we are, because we are His creation made in His image (Genesis 1:27). He cares for all of His creations, including plants, animals, and the environment. Matthew 6:26 says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” If God even meets the needs of birds who are not made in His image, who have no will to choose Him or reject Him, how much more will He care for our needs in detail? Because of God’s care, we can trust Him: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).
Throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth, we see that He was interested in the specifics of people’s lives. Jesus has always been more interested in quality than quantity. Jesus was sent to save the lost and bridge the gap between man and God since the fall, but He still took the time to meet the immediate needs of people He encountered. In Matthew 14:18–21 is a clear picture of Jesus’ compassion on the hungry. One meal in the lives of so many is but a detail, yet we have an amazing story of His earnestness in providing a heaven-sent meal for over 5,000 men, women, and children.
God does indeed care about the “little things” in our lives, because He cares about us. Compared to Him and His glory, our whole lives are made up of those “little things.” Psalm 139:17–18 says, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them, Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I am awake, I am still with you.”
Some people have a hard time believing that God is interested in every detail of our lives. Maybe He's interested in the big things that happen to us, but think He's probably got too much else to do to worry about the small things. That's not right—and we should be glad it isn’t, because it means that God is concerned about everything that happens to us! It also means we can bring even the smallest concern to Him in prayer, knowing that He cares about us and watches over us.
Why is God concerned not only about the big things but the small things in our lives? One reason is because He loves us. If He didn’t love us, He wouldn’t care what happens to us—and He certainly wouldn’t care about the little details that often preoccupy us or cause us the greatest worry. But He does love us, and we know this because He sent His only Son into the world to purchase our salvation. Jesus said, “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid” (Matt. 10:30-31).
But we know God is concerned about even the smallest things for another reason: His greatness. God is so great that even the very smallest detail of the universe is under His control. The most distant galaxy … the littlest seed … even the smallest subatomic particle—everything was created by Him and is under His sovereign control. God is that great! In Christ, the Bible says, “all things were created. … And in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:30 that “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” God is so great that He is able to take infinite interest in the most intimate details of our lives. There is nothing so small that it escapes His notice, and there is no concern too trivial to bring before Him. He simply cares that much. Nothing and no one is too small for God to use. The Bible shows us over and over again how often God used minor things and small people. But it doesn’t end there.
Jesus is the same today and is still working through little moments, people, and things. My observations are just small ways I have seen God working in our lives recently, this past week.
Jesus is always the same—He said so!