God Cares About All the Details

     My mother had misplaced her keys one day and searched all over our home with no luck.  She was getting more and more upset by the moment, and I suggested that she stop and pray.  I said that God knows where those keys are.  She looked at me and replied that she couldn’t ask God to help her find her keys because He had more important requests to answer than that.  I was surprised by her response.  There had been many times when I had asked God to help me find something, and He did just that.  Why is it that we think that God only cares about the big things when the details in a situation are just as crucial?

 

   To prove my point, we have only to look at the Old Testament books of Exodus and Leviticus.  Did God not give extremely detailed instructions on how to build the Tabernacle, the altar and other features?  If he did not care for details, I seriously doubt they would all be recorded in Scripture.  In addition, He gave very specific direction to the Children of Israel regarding their conduct, offerings and ritual cleansings.  He is, indeed, a God who is in the details.

     Jesus made a statement about our worth and the details of our life that should be a great encouragement to us all.  In Matthew 10:29-31, He said:  “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.”  If God knows all the details of our lives (and He does), then we ought to rejoice that nothing is too small for Him to help us with.

     Take another example. Jesus fulfilled about 300 of the Old Testament prophecies made about the Messiah according to the scholars down to the place of His birth, His suffering, and His resurrection.  Again, we see God in the details letting His people know what He has planned for them. How well Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day when He said:  “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).  So why is it that we think that God doesn’t care about lost car keys, a sick animal, or the many other day to day details of our life?

     One of the reasons is because we do not see God as big enough to care about these issues in our life.  Didn’t the Apostle Paul encourage us to take everything to God in prayer?  After all, God made us and knows we are weak, sinful and frail in this world.  He sought us before we ever sought Him that we might be saved from sin and death.  If He cares that much, will He not care about the small things that trouble us in this life? 

     A hymn that was dear to my father says is well:  “ Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer “(What a Friend We Have in Jesus) .  In this season of celebration when we look to the the cradle in a manger, let us not forget that Jesus came for us.  He lives to ever make intercession for us before the throne of God both in the big things and the details of our life.  Let us carry everything to God in prayer knowing that He hears us when we call.  May this encourage your heart today!  Selah! 

Thanks Be to God

     Assisting with the Children’s Choir has been a real blessing for me.  Last year, the children were working on a song for Thanksgiving that just remains in my heart as we approach this holiday.  The words to the chorus go like this:  “Thanks be to God, thanks be to God, thanks be to God for all good gifts; thanks be to God, thanks be to God, thanks be to God for creation.”  It’s a simple tune reminding us of all that we have to be thankful for as we gather for worship and in our homes.

     Sadly, Thanksgiving is often ignored because people are in a hurry to get to the B-I-G event....Christmas.  In fact, some stores even have their Christmas displays up already!  The Pilgrims,

however, found it important to take time and celebrate God’s goodness to them in the new land to which they had come.  Both native born and newcomer alike found a seat at the table to enjoy the fruit of the harvest.  As history records it, the Pilgrims came because they had suffered persecution for their faith and wanted to go where they could be free to worship God according to His Word.  Despite their hardships in coming to a new place, they rejoiced at God’s provision.

     According to God’s Word, we are told to offer up a sacrifice of praise continually.  Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.”  Not only are we blessed in heart when we thank God for all His good gifts, but we, in obedience, bring glory to the Lord.  For some of us, it is hard to offer that sacrifice of praise because life in this fallen world is hard.  We lose loved ones, we may be facing illness, or we may have financial woes, but God, who is our provision, has never left our side.  We may not understand the hardships we face in this life.  Nevertheless, God gives us the daily strength to go on, and the Apostle Paul gives us another reason to praise God.

     I Corinthians 15:56-57 tells us:  “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  It is through our Lord Jesus Christ that we are set free from sin and the sting of death.  We will one day be in His presence for all eternity where there will be no more tears, heartache or pain.  By His death and resurrection, He has reconciled us to God.  When our hearts are regenerated, God removes the stony, cold heart of sin, and gives to us a heart of flesh that can respond in faith to salvation. This is worth more than anything we could ever want or desire. Therefore, praise for God should be a daily part of our prayers and conversation with others.

     Another reason to give thanks to our Lord is because it is according to His will for each believer.  In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote this instruction (I Thessalonians 5:16-18):  “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  This is a simple and straight forward command to us.  When we do this, we are demonstrating our Christian worldview to a culture that has forgotten how to say “thank you” or show gratitude for the many blessings we enjoy each day.

     Finally, when we put on the character of Christ as Paul writes about to the Colossians, chapter 3, we will find that a thankful heart is one that attracts others to Jesus Christ.  In verses 15-17, Paul tells us:  “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be thankful.  Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Having a thankful heart isn’t just for Thanksgiving!  It should be our way of life, and will make others ask why we are joy filled rather than grumpy like the rest of the world.

     Thanking God for our many blessings is not hard.  When we cannot find the right words, we can always turn to the Psalms and read them aloud.  Praising God as our children do in song will always lift our spirits too.   Be blessed today and from our home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.  Selah! 

Never Alone

     There are times in  our lives when we all feel alone.  Perhaps a friend is moving away, we  may have lost a loved one or maybe, we have lost our employment.  Any of these situations can often make us feel isolated.  However, there is good news for all believers in God's Word.  In reality we are never alone.

     Psalm 139 has always been one of my favorites and it really came to life for me during our Sunday School lesson on the omnipresence of God.   The prefix "omni" means "all"; so to say God is omnipresent means that he is everywhere present since he is not bound by time or space.  This is a hard concept for those of us who are bound by both time and space with our physical bodies.  Yet, God is both transcendent and immanent.  Unlike pantheism that believes God is in everything, Christians believe He is everywhere present at all times.  What good news for the believer who at times feels alone or deserted in life.

     As the Psalm opens, we see David acknowledging that God knows him in an intimate way (vs.1).  God sees him when he rises up or is seated and more than that, God knows his thoughts.  He also knows how David behaves and what he is about to say even before he says it (Vs.2-4).  This is a picture of just how well God knows not only David but also each one of us.  In some ways, it is a bit frightening to know that God is acquainted with each one of us to this degree of intimacy.  For the Christian, this is a comfort, however.  David exclaims in vs. 6 "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it."

   

 When we turn to verses 7-12, we begin to realize that there really is no place we can go to get away from God's presence.  He resides in heaven but also in Sheol (the place of the dead).  He is in the morning and at the same time, in the depth of the sea.  Even darkness cannot cover us or keep us from God's presence.  While there are times when we may not feel that God is near, these words provide us with the picture of His abiding presence.  

     Perhaps the most intimate picture painted for us in the words of David's Psalm are these in verse 13-14:  "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."  The very fact that God intricately formed us to be who we are physically, spiritually and mentally means He knows us and cares about us like a mother knows her newborn infant.  There is nothing that would surprise God about us, and He delights in walking with us through this life.

     What we need to learn to do is remember that God, our all powerful, all knowing, all holy, all loving and ever present Redeemer will never leave nor forsake us.  This should inform our conduct in His presence and reassure us in times when we feel alone.  There is virtually no place where we can go that He is not already there for us.  Take comfort in knowing this today. Let our prayer be like David's closing words in vs. 23-24:  "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" Selah!

Surely Goodness and Mercy....

     One of the advantages to growing older is the ability to look back across our lives and see all the places where God has intervened for our benefit and His glory.  At the time we are in the midst of a crisis, we often miss the superb timing, the loving touch, and the grace that allows us to emerge from a fiery trial unscathed.  David, the Psalmist and Shepherd King of Israel, knew the comfort of God’s unending care and memorialized it for us in Psalm 23.  This is a Psalm well known to most of us if not memorized when we were young.  In fact, I learned this Psalm in French during high school language class, and in any context, it brings comfort to the speaker and hearer alike.

 

        As we approach Thanksgiving, we need to stop and think about the message of this simple Psalm.  God is likened to a shepherd who makes provision for us on a daily basis.  He cares for us, leads us and takes us to places of rest.  The opening verse tell us:  “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  We need to pause and think about all the ways that God keeps us and cares for us.  Unfortunately, we often take daily blessings for granted such as food on the table, a place to sleep, a job, and our family.  Instead, the enemy wants us to concentrate on all the things we don’t have. To Psalm 27:35, I add my “amen”:  “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” Though times may look difficult, the Lord walks with us even as He did with the children of Israel when they wandered for forty years in the wilderness.  Their clothes did not even wear out!

          Secondly, not only is the Lord with us during the good times, but He walks with us even in the valley of the shadow of death.  How well, I remember that there was an eleven year span where I lost my 39 year old aunt, my grandparents and my father who died much too young.  Then, came a long struggle in keeping watch for ten years as my mother went through Alzheimer’s Disease.  Never did we think we would lose a grandson in 2014 at age six, but again, the Lord provided His extraordinary grace to us.   No family in this world is spared from the walk in this valley, but when we have Jesus Christ, we have comfort, solace and strength to make it to the other side.  Of course, we all know that one day we will walk in this valley as we prepare to go home to the Lord, but we can say “I will fear no evil” as David declared because Jesus will usher us into His presence.  What we must remember is that a valley may have shadows, but they also can be very fruitful in comfort.  I love what Matthew Henry has to say about this section of the Psalm:  “Death is a king of terrors, but not to the sheep of Christ. When they come to die, God will rebuke the enemy; he will guide them with his rod, and sustain them with his staff. There is enough in the gospel to comfort the saints when dying, and underneath them are the everlasting arms.”

           Finally, we must remember that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life. (vs 6).  God has made this a promise to us.  Goodness walks along side of us each day in the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us.  Mercy guards our rear flank and keeps us from stumbling over the roadblocks of life.  Oh, I know.  It may seem like neither is there at times, but if you live long enough and look back over all you have been through, you will see the tracks of mercy and goodness behind you.  God doesn’t always let us see all the dangers He has kept us from until a later time or until we see Him face to face.  Yet, His promises are certain and His tender care unequaled.

           As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we need to take time to go around the dinner table and ask everyone to share one thing for which they are thankful.  Then, read Psalm 23 and think about God’s total care and provision for each one of us.  May our hearts be filled with His praise for we are the sheep of His pasture.  Selah!