We tend to think of God as an almighty being. That’s not inaccurate. He created the world, He sees everything that happens, and he is alive and active in world affairs even to this day. (That doesn’t mean that evil doesn’t occur – it does because people love darkness rather than light (John 3:19).) We know that God is infinite, all-powerful, all-encompassing, all-loving, all-wise, all-faithful, all-righteous, and more.
The problem is that when we see something big, we assume that this means that the little things are barely noticeable to someone like that. We see this played out with famous people, especially political leaders: They don’t have time or energy for everyone, so they choose a few high-profile, often influential or well-to-do, people to notice and care about – and as far as it appears, everyone else doesn’t matter at all.
(Side note: When a high-profile leader does stop for the one, so to speak, it often becomes a sensation. Pope Francis, for instance, often shows concern for one child in a crowd or for a specific person he’s never met. This makes international headlines because it’s so unusual.)
We do it ourselves in our everyday lives. Little things usually don’t matter, and since we have limited time and energy, we ignore these little things. There’s a wrinkle in the tablecloth, leaves blown onto my front sidewalk, or a few papers left out on the desk. Does it really matter? Even smaller things that we don’t need to attend to – water droplets on the window after a rain, birds singing in a tree near the open window by our desk, a new flower in the hedge along the property line. We ignore them or may not even see these little things because our minds are busy on ‘important’ things that need to be done, that are too trivial in the face of whatever else is happening in our lives at this moment.
God is not limited in time or energy. He’s infinite – without beginning and without end. He’s all-powerful – able to do anything. Yet we tend to think of Him in terms of being so big and so powerful that He only notices big things – the major events in our lives, the decisions that involve ‘Christ-centered’ things, and the topics around church.
This flies in the face of what we see in God’s creation. When He made the world and all the difference species of plants and animals, He didn’t just slap some general colors and shapes together and say, “That’s good enough for someone as big as Me.” Instead, He looked into the minutest details – the tiniest variation of color in flowers the size of my pinky fingernail, the different colored feathers that make a perfect and beautiful bird, the organisms so small and yet so perfectly made that it takes a microscope to see it.
God cares about the smallest details. That’s why He created such minute details in the world He made. He wanted that proof to be seen – the proof that He sees the smallest details as well as the massive ones.
It continues to be true in our lives – He cares about the smallest, as well as the biggest, details. He counts the very number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7). He knows when you decide to put on your shoes in the morning. He sees when you figure out what to make for supper. He understands when you see something on social media that makes you sad. He’s guiding you when you go to buy a car or choose your next hiking trail. Nothing escapes His notice.
So next time you’re tempted to think, “God doesn’t care about that,” remember the tiny flowers, the perfectly formed feathers, and the microscopic amoebas. If He cared enough to create things that small, than He’s fully able to care about – and be interested in – your current situation.
