The God of detail

I have recently been drawn to the Old Testament. I reread the stories of the plagues on Egypt, Moses' life, the trek to the Promised Land, Joshua leading them in. Then I jumped over to 1 Samuel and read about Samuel, the begging for a King, the appointment of Saul, the appointment of David and Saul's pursuit to take his life.

I enjoyed reading these things again and finding small details I had missed before...like...

-- Some of the plagues only affected the Egyptians and didn't affect the Israelites (not just the Angel of the Death, but others as well)

--Saul threw a spear at his own son (Jonathan) because he was so angry that David wasn't at dinner. Don't worry Jonathan survived.

-- Samuel, the priest, hacked King Agag to pieces. 1 Sam 15:33

--There's a lot more, but for time sake I will move on. Go read it!!

I am continually amazed at the amount of detail in these stories. My pastor says it's there to prove the voracity of scripture, which I totally understand and agree with. But I also see that it points to the Lord's care of the details of our lives.

He cares deeply about our details.

How many times have you heard of someone receiving the exact amount of money they needed for an unexpected bill? Or having some uncertain issue and just running into someone who has the exact answer they need at just the moment they needed it. Or how about "the number of hairs on your head being numbered." I love my kids dearly, but I guarantee you I have no idea how many hairs they have...I wouldn't even know a ballpark. A million? A billion? A trillion minus what I find in the drain everyday? But He knows. 

I believe He meets us in these moments to show how present He is. He had that check on the way in the mail before you knew the bill even existed. He fashioned the movement of time and space (and traffic lights and diaper changes) to ensure that you met that plumber on aisle 5 at Home Depot to get the answer to why your toilet just exploded and is flooding your bathroom while you desperately try to find the parts to fix it.  OH...and he knew which parts you needed. 

He does this to show how much He cares for you. How about this one..."For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." The World....the world...the world...all 6 billion of us. But what if you changed it up a bit and put your name in that spot....

For God so loved Julie that He gave His only begotten Son so that if Julie would believe in Him she would have everlasting life.

I know for me, I so often lump myself in "the world" that I can tend to forget how deeply personal that God of ours really is. He is intensely personal. He cares how many hairs are on your head for crying out loud. And if He cares about something most of us never even think of (receding hairlines and thinning hair moments excluded), how much more does He care about your flooded bathroom, the bills that cause tears to come, or the loved one you grieve over. 

He is present. He cares about the details. He wants to hear about your days. Your heartaches, Your pain. Your stress. Your joys. Your laughter. Your kids' laughter. Your excitement over the bills paid and the toilets fixed. He marked the details of the Old Testament (and New Testament) because they mattered then and they matter now. Share with Him. He not only wants to know the moments of your life, He has all the answers.