How You Can Be Sure God is in the Details

“God is concerned about the details of your life.” You’ve heard that many times, but why is it hard to believe?

When times get tough, a survival mentality gives us tunnel vision. It can kill our dreams and pummel our belief in God’s provision.

(I’ve gone through that cycle more times than I can count.)

But God IS concerned about the details of our lives.

The whole Bible attests to that. And God says He doesn’t change, so what derails us in trusting Him with the details of our lives?

The tension between “I should” and “God can”

Every time my life teeters on the edge of a cliff, my brain’s first reaction is to churn out scenarios of what I can do to make things better. If all else fails, call God for reinforcements.

That doesn’t sound like “Christian” thinking, does it?

There’s a balance to strike here.

God won’t do for us what we can do for ourselves. BUT we shouldn’t relegate Him to an afterthought. Instead of consulting Him as a last resort, why not do it first?

Pride, self-sufficiency, and selective memory loss of God’s goodness factor into that. Bottom line: We trust God more when we’re devoid of our own resources to fall back on.

Can God do it again?

Some people think accounts like the Exodus are too old, dramatic, or fantastical for God to reprise. A distraught young woman recently tweeted, “I earn too much to qualify for welfare, yet I’m going to get evicted. I’ve looked for six months for affordable, safe housing. I can’t find anything. I’m tired of governmental red tape. It’s no help.”

No one should minimize that tough situation or offer pat answers. All I can say (from experience) is that God delivers, provides, and protects in as many ways as there are people. Just because He does it differently each time doesn’t negate His power to do so. Instead, it affirms His infinite creative ability to do it. (He gets a kick out of providing in unexpected ways!)

The Bible brims with accounts of God being in the details. Let me share a few with you. I’ll bet you’ll see something you didn’t notice before. (Let me know when you do!)

God works through details as only He can

(1) Among God’s many instructions to Noah, He said to take seven of all clean animals and two of all unclean animals into the Ark. Why more clean animals? They would be used for future sacrifices, so God made sure there would be enough of them.

(2) God intimately knows the topography of land AND sea. The Red Sea crossing happened at the only spot with a level sea bed and no big drop-off. It was the perfect place to lead God’s people to safety and wipe out the Egyptian army in the process. Another bonus of His divine engineering: the Israelites had no means to fight the enemies they’d encounter en route to the Promised Land, yet God provided His people with Egypt’s finest weaponry. Exodus 14:30 records the Egyptians’ dead bodies and equipment washed up on the shore where the Israelites had safely crossed to. You can still see coral growing on the Egyptians’ smashed chariots at the bottom of just one area of the Red Sea—the place where the Israelites crossed.

(3) Why did God command Jewish boys to be circumcised on the eighth day? Modern science provides the answer. Newborns are especially susceptible to bleeding through the fifth day of life. But on Day 8, vitamin K and prothrombin levels—both vital for clotting—are at their peak, making that day ideal (safest) for circumcision.

The list goes on. Sadly, the Israelites had short memories of all God did for them. Less than three months out of Egypt, they let loose volleys of complaints against Moses and God.

That’s why God took the Israelites to the brink of desperation time and again—to drive home the point that if HE didn’t come through, they’d be doomed.

We’re no different. Human nature is human nature.

The Bible reminds us of God’s constancy so we don’t have to suffer memory loss about Him. And, if we slip, we don’t have to wander forty years in the wilderness to get back on track.

Your turn

If you doubt God or have trouble remembering His hand in the details of your life, may I suggest you start a list of how God has provided for His people—especially the downcast and disadvantaged? Here are a few examples:

• Hagar and her son
• The widow of Zarephath
• Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s crippled son
• Hezekiah (when Israel was surrounded)
• Dorcas

Lord, thank You for being concerned about the details of my life, even when I can’t see evidence of it. Thank You that You don’t rank details as “large” or “small.” Break me of that mindset. When the enemy fills my mind with doubts, fill my heart with praise. Scan my heart and show me what areas of my life I haven’t entrusted to You—so I can offer them up to You. Thank You for Your patience and provision in this walk called life. Amen.

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