The devil is not in the details – God is.
Our house sold after thirteen long months. We were scheduled to move out of state in two weeks, to join my husband in Colorado where he had taken a job. Our family and my parents were all moving at the same time and needed to land in a home together for a while. We were having a difficult time finding a home that would accommodate all of us within the budget we had set.
I remember telling God, “this is between you and Paul (my husband), I can’t take this on.” God literally worked so many miracles in the details as he provided a home for all of us, that was much larger than anything my husband had found, it was within our price range and it happened to be right down the street from where my husband had been living temporarily. God is in the details and he often will turn the worst kinds of details into the BEST, if you give him the chance to work out the details.
Where has God showed up for you?
When God keeps up with the number of hairs on our heads, yeah, he’s in the business of details. When God cares about each sparrow, even though in man’s eye they are not worth much, God is in the details. God let’s us know we are more valuable to him than the sparrows and yet, he still keeps track of the sparrows.
[Tweet “God is all about ALL of the details.”]
“What is the price of sparrows? A couple of pennies? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7
God let’s us know,“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not! And if worry can’t do little things like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?” Luke 12:25-26 Yeah, worrying is a detail and God cares about every tiny detail. He knows the details matter. They often make us or break us at times. God is in the details.
I’m a lazy decorator. I like easy crafts or projects with quick results. If there is a shortcut to get the look I want, I take it. The brown mirror in our family room, yep, I painted it while it was still hanging on the wall. Hey, it worked and it looks great too! Maybe you take shortcuts at times too. God does not take short cuts, he does all things well and he manages ALL the details with excellence. [Tweet “He keeps our universe spinning, the insides of our bodies operating and the details of each of our lives orchestrated – he’s GOD.”]
So when you or I are in the middle of DETAILS that make no sense, we all need the stories of others; how God worked in the details of their lives. When your resources have halted and your flung forward in need of a miracle, listen to the faith stories of others and how God has worked in all the details of their lives. Read them, hear them, find them, and repeat them – we all need to be reminded – God works miracles in the details.
We need to stop being afraid to share our stories with others. Let’s decide together to throw off the fear and shame of those who might judge us, or judge the space we find ourselves in now or in the past.
Lot’s of people want to experience miracles, but many of us do not want to be put in the position to need a miracle. When you find yourself there, it’s usually scary, not so pretty, and a very vulnerable place to be. It’s a place where others may not understand and some may judge. It’s the place where the enemy tries to bring shame, fear and doubt. It’s the place where God wants to bring freedom!
It might be the very place where God is preparing His Glory to reside. [Tweet “Pastor Bill Johnson says, “If God leads you into a conflict, he’s preparing you to triumph.””] If God has showed up in the details of your life, your story needs to be told so others can be encouraged to keep believing God, even when nothing makes sense.
About five years ago my husband asked me to speak on Mother’s Day at our church. I told him, “no.” Then God got all up in the middle of the details and kept me awake at night, until I began to write what I would share on that Mother’s Day. Little did I know our next location in life would lead me to speak to women on a regular basis. God is in the details, even the ones you and I try to push him out of. He’s there to love, heal, prepare, teach, equip and grow us.
God gets in the details with or without our permission. Of course you and I still have a choice whether to listen and obey or avoid Him.
“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalm 37:23
I have to remind myself often of who God is. The one who not only split the Red Sea, but created the Red Sea. The one who took ordinary things like jugs, water, a little human effort and turned the water into the BEST wine at a wedding celebration.
He’s in the details, he knows the details, he orchestrates the details, he takes the details others meant for evil and turns them around for good. We all have details God is waiting on us to hand over to him. Will you join me in trusting him with the details?
Blessings,
Joelle
