A God of Small Things, Big Things, and Things In Between

A lot of the time when we contemplate having an eternal, infinite God so huge that he created the entire universe and everything it in – from tiny little atoms and their components to everything they make up – we can feel overwhelmed and doubt if that same God has the time, patience, and/or interest to consider us and care about our problems. I mean, why should God care if I pass my Psychology exam if there are so many bigger things to focus on – like ISIS? But when it comes down to it, God is a God of big things, small things, and things in between.

How do I know this? The Bible has lots of references, such as Matthew 6:26-34.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 10:29-31 is another verse that shows how God is interested in things both big and small.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

These verses illustrate several points, two of which I am going to focus on. The first is that God cares about the birds and the plants. Compared to how many children are going to bed hungry, the many diseases plaguing the world, political turmoil, and countless other things, birds and plants can seem inconsequential to us. Yet, as Matthew 10:29 says, not one sparrow will fall to the ground and escape God’s knowledge. So, though these things seem small and inconsequential to us, they are important to God. The second point is that God cares about us. As Genesis 1:27 tells us, humans are made in the image of God. We matter to him. Although all of his creations are special to him, we are the most special – the most important – to him. And as you can see from the verses above, if he takes care of things that are of less importance, he will take care of us, who are worth so much more. God is a God of both big things and small things.

Aside from the Bible, I like to look at my own experiences for proof that he cares for both big and small things, and even the things in between.

A couple months ago I woke up with a horrible stomach ache. Not to get into TMI territory, but I thought I was going to be sick. Seriously. Instead of getting up and doing something – like going to get a bucket or pills – I sat in bed and prayed to God to take away my pain. I won’t say the pain was gone instantly, but it did begin to fade instantly. A stomach ache doesn’t stand up next to all of the issues going on in the world, but God cared enough about me to take away my pain almost instantly when I asked.

My family got a phone call from one of my mom’s friends late at night a few weeks back. She said that her brother had been in a motorcycle accident and was in ICU. He had internal bleeding and was in an induced coma. He hadn’t been wearing a helmet. The family had been asking for – and receiving – lots of prayers. He should have died. But he didn’t. He is going to recover. God cared enough about this man’s life that he allowed him to survive an accident that should have killed him.

So we can see that God is a God of both small things and big things. But what about the things that fall somewhere in between suffering from a bit of pain and almost dying?

A couple weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night and was hit with the realization that I’m going back to school and that if I don’t get more scholarships then I don’t have enough money to cover all of the expenses. I knew I had enough money for tuition, but what about books? What about gas? What about food? This is something that I’ve been anxious about for a while, but it just sort of hit me at that point. Was I not supposed to go back to school? Did I make a mistake when I decided to pass up the opportunity to become a grant writer so I could go back to school? Was I not supposed to be a teacher? Had I royally screwed up? I said some prayers and finally managed to fall back to sleep. I was too lazy to turn my alarm clock off when it came on, so I just laid in bed for a few minutes and listened to the radio. After a while a commercial came on that was basically encouraging people to become teachers. “That’s uncanny,” I thought. Later on that day I got onto my school account and saw that I had been awarded another scholarship.

God cared enough to take away my stomach ache, to save a man's life, and to encourage me and help me out financially when it comes to school. If you ask me, that's awesome.

The next time you feel weird asking God for something or you start doubting if he really cares for you, try remembering the things that he has done for you so far in your life. Look at the Bible. Reflect on the times someone you know told you about answered prayers. God cares. He cares about the big things, the small things, and even the things in between.

Cheers!

Molly