By Melanie Chitwood
“And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30 (NLT)
When I encouraged a friend at church to pray about a troubling situation, she responded in a way that, at some point, we may have all felt. She discounted my suggestion by saying, “God has much more important things to worry about than my little problems.” I assured her that nothing was too small to present to God, but I don’t think I convinced her.
Later as I thought about her response, I wondered what had led her to this incorrect conclusion about God. Had she heard this idea while she was growing up? Had someone important made her feel like her needs were insignificant and then she transferred this idea to God’s thoughts about her?
We have to be careful that our ideas about God come from God, not from someone else, not even from a Christian teacher or pastor or book. To know who God is and how He views us, we need to go to God’s Word.
When we look at Scripture we see that God’s character is strikingly different from this lady’s conclusion about who God is. God’s Word affirms over and over that He is a God who cares about the details. In Matthew 10:30 God is so intimately acquainted with us that “the very hairs on your head are all numbered” (NLT). Psalm 147:4 tells us that God “counts the stars and calls them all by name” (NLT).
In Mark 5 we learn about a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. Perhaps this woman in Scripture is like my church friend. She’s believed God has more important things to worry about than her small health problem. However, in her desperate desire to be healed, she decides that if there’s even a chance that her suffering will end, she’s taking that chance. Scripture tells us she “touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.” (Mark 5: 28-29 NIV).
Immediately Jesus stops and asks who has touched Him. Considering the circumstances, it’s astounding to see Jesus pause for one woman. With a huge crowd pressing in on Him, with dust and noise and pulls and tugs, Jesus stops. He stops for one small woman who had the faith to reach out with one small touch.
Scripture tells us who God really is. He’s not a God who loves from afar. He’s a God who cares about the details of our lives. Nothing is too small to present to Him. Nothing escapes His attention, His care, and His love.
Dear Lord, I am amazed that You are intimately acquainted with the details of my life and that You, the Lord of the all the Universe, care about me and the small matters of my life. Thank You for being such a personal God. Thank You for the ultimate proof that You care about me, Your death on a cross. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?
Intimacy with God: Your Daily Guide to Prayer by Tara Furman
Self Talk, Soul Talk by Jennifer Rothschild
What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood
Application Steps:
Write down three words to describe God. Find a Scripture verse to confirm that this characteristic truly describes God’s character. Try using Biblegateway.com to search for the verses. Write down the verses and reflect on them daily.
Reflections:
What relationships do you think have colored your view of God?
Think of some circumstances which have influenced your understanding of God.
Spend some time praying and asking God to reveal to you any inaccurate pictures you have of Him.
Power Verses:
Psalm 139:1, “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.” (NLT)
Psalm 139: 14,15, “You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.” (Message)
© 2008 by Melanie Chitwood. All rights reserved.
“And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30 (NLT)
When I encouraged a friend at church to pray about a troubling situation, she responded in a way that, at some point, we may have all felt. She discounted my suggestion by saying, “God has much more important things to worry about than my little problems.” I assured her that nothing was too small to present to God, but I don’t think I convinced her.
Later as I thought about her response, I wondered what had led her to this incorrect conclusion about God. Had she heard this idea while she was growing up? Had someone important made her feel like her needs were insignificant and then she transferred this idea to God’s thoughts about her?
We have to be careful that our ideas about God come from God, not from someone else, not even from a Christian teacher or pastor or book. To know who God is and how He views us, we need to go to God’s Word.
When we look at Scripture we see that God’s character is strikingly different from this lady’s conclusion about who God is. God’s Word affirms over and over that He is a God who cares about the details. In Matthew 10:30 God is so intimately acquainted with us that “the very hairs on your head are all numbered” (NLT). Psalm 147:4 tells us that God “counts the stars and calls them all by name” (NLT).
In Mark 5 we learn about a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. Perhaps this woman in Scripture is like my church friend. She’s believed God has more important things to worry about than her small health problem. However, in her desperate desire to be healed, she decides that if there’s even a chance that her suffering will end, she’s taking that chance. Scripture tells us she “touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.” (Mark 5: 28-29 NIV).
Immediately Jesus stops and asks who has touched Him. Considering the circumstances, it’s astounding to see Jesus pause for one woman. With a huge crowd pressing in on Him, with dust and noise and pulls and tugs, Jesus stops. He stops for one small woman who had the faith to reach out with one small touch.
Scripture tells us who God really is. He’s not a God who loves from afar. He’s a God who cares about the details of our lives. Nothing is too small to present to Him. Nothing escapes His attention, His care, and His love.
Dear Lord, I am amazed that You are intimately acquainted with the details of my life and that You, the Lord of the all the Universe, care about me and the small matters of my life. Thank You for being such a personal God. Thank You for the ultimate proof that You care about me, Your death on a cross. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?
Intimacy with God: Your Daily Guide to Prayer by Tara Furman
Self Talk, Soul Talk by Jennifer Rothschild
What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood
Application Steps:
Write down three words to describe God. Find a Scripture verse to confirm that this characteristic truly describes God’s character. Try using Biblegateway.com to search for the verses. Write down the verses and reflect on them daily.
Reflections:
What relationships do you think have colored your view of God?
Think of some circumstances which have influenced your understanding of God.
Spend some time praying and asking God to reveal to you any inaccurate pictures you have of Him.
Power Verses:
Psalm 139:1, “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.” (NLT)
Psalm 139: 14,15, “You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.” (Message)
© 2008 by Melanie Chitwood. All rights reserved.
3 Comments:
I know this firsthand! Over two years ago God called me to go deeper in my walk with Him. Through this pursuit intimate fellowship was shared and my perception of who God is has drastically changed. I praise and thank God this morning for not being the God to which I had limited Him. If He was truly the God I had created through my perception He would have fallen short for my provisions in this season. I had Him much less than who He really is and He is expanding and emerging daily. The smaller I become in Him the larger He becomes in me. My God of 2 ½ years ago was a God I had created through my perception and not the God of the Word. We cannot know who the true God is unless we study the Bible which teaches us the character of God, the teachings of God and the commands of God. Without spending time with Him we will never know who He is and what He can be for us. If we offer 10% of ourselves to God we will yield 10% of God to ourselves. “The key to breaking the faith barrier and anchoring our trust in God is an exalted view of God Himself. We use what faith we have, as little as it may seem, by magnifying the heart’s view of God. We grow in faith by seeing God in a new light. Our faith is as big as our God. If your notion of God is grand, your faith will soar. If it is little, your faith will sag. How big is your God? See Him as He is, and the faith barrier will shatter before you.”
It is wonderful to be reminded how "Big" Our God is! I feel that it is easy though to get in the mind set that we don't want to bother him. Society tells us to be independent, take care of things ourselves and it is very hard to fathom that God who has the entire universe in his hands that he would even want to hear about our day. We need to realize God wants us to depend on Him and when we do we will grow and see the plans he has for us.
Thank you for sharing this. It's something we need to be reminded of every now and then because there certainly are moments when we feel like our problems are our problems alone and there is no way out. I feel that way at the moment and I can only wait and hope.
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