God is in the Details
One of my favorite verses is found in Psalm 37:23 in NLT
“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”
I have seen this happen all around me lately. In many situations where there is a need, and circumstances are out of our control, God has come through and been faithful. He does not do it in the way we expect or anticipate, because His ways are not our ways. But God is a faithful Father and He cares about us, His children. Over and over again in His Word He tells us not to worry, to cast our cares on Him. Jesus told His disciples,
“Don’t worry or surrender to fear.
For you’ve believed in God, now trust and believe in Me also.”
John 14:1 TPT
As we go about our day to day lives, we will encounter difficulties because Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble. It is easy when we face adversity to lose awareness of God’s presence with us. Like Peter who believed Jesus enough to walk on the water until He stopped looking at Jesus and started looking around him at the wind and the waves and how far he was from shore, that’s when he started to sink.
“But then Peter saw that the wind was still blowing strongly. He became afraid and he began to go down into the water. He shouted to Jesus, ‘Lord, save me!’
Immediately, Jesus put out His hand and He took hold of Peter. He said to Peter, ‘
You should trust Me more than you do.
Why did you not believe that I could help you?’”
Matthew 14:20-21 EASY
Many times the fear of the storms surrounding us steal our attention away from how big our God is. In that moment, as we cry out to God, He is right there pulling us up from the depths into which we are sinking.
Not too long ago my husband’s office was looking for a hygienist to cover for the current one who was getting ready to have a baby. They spent a lot of time looking and praying and had found no one. The day she started her labor 2 applicants came in and one started that day. God always hears our cries and answers. He knows everything about us and our situation and He promises to supply all we need as we trust in Him.
What if our purpose in life is not to be pain or problem free, but to pursue a deeper relationship with the God who made us in His image? What if we recognized that in every difficult thing we face, He is right there with us, ready to reach out and save us? In those times when we don’t see a solution, what if we stop trying to fix the problem and start looking for how God wants to use it for His glory.
“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed- that exhilarating finish in and with God- He could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
Hebrews 12:2-3 The Message
So, when you feel overwhelmed or like you are sinking beneath a sea of troubles I challenge you to look to Jesus. He is the rescue for our souls. Trust Him in spite of the circumstances and rely on His goodness and love even when things don’t go your way. There is more to this life than we can see, and our God will be glorified in the end!
God bless and love you,
Betsy O’Callaghan