God Cares About the Details

This was in my 'Five Minutes For Faith' devotional this morning and it hit a chord with me. As I am often in conversation with God throughout my day, blabbering on about all sorts of things I found it comforting to know he does care about the small details of my life. Somedays I imagine Him sitting in Heaven going 'Okay Diva, I hear you, you can stop now'...or 'I do believe we've been over this before dear child, don't you get it yet?' I picture Him as a parent simply longing for some peace and quiet and all he gets are constant requests, well isn't it wonderful to know there is a story in the Bible to remind us that He really does care about the details? I hope this helps you along your day today.



Posted: 17 Jan 2011 05:56 AM PST

Ever had those days when you felt you were throwing up emergency prayers that seemed unimportant in the big scheme of things? You know the ones. “Lord, please let me find my car keys or I’m going to be late, again.” “Lord, please let me find a parking place close to the door, because I have to get these children and all this stuff in that store quickly in the rain.” “Lord, please let my child sleep through the night, because I have to get some sleep.”

If you are a mom, I’m sure you’ve prayed one or more of these prayers on some occasion. I know I’ve prayed them many times. I used to think they were sort of “silly” prayers. After all, there are much greater problems going on in the world while I’m looking for my keys. But for some reason it makes me feel better to tell God what I need, as trivial as it seems, so I keep praying them.

I was reading through 2 Kings recently and came across the passage of the floating ax head. This story takes place right after Elisha has healed Naaman of leprosy and right before Israel’s army is delivered from the Arameans – an important man and an important event.

The prophets who were following Elisha were cutting trees by the Jordan to build larger quarters to accommodate their growing numbers. One of the men’s iron ax head fell into the water. He became panicked because the ax was borrowed. Upon hearing the man’s distress, Elisha asks where the ax head fell. The man showed Elisha the place. Elisha cut a stick, threw it into the water, and the iron ax head floated to the top where the man could reach down and lift it out of the water.

The man was obviously not a big, important person like Naaman, as he didn’t even have enough money to buy his own ax, but had to borrow one. He didn’t seem to be performing some big, important task like fighting in Israel’s army. But he was doing what God had called him to do – building a home so that God’s Word and work could be furthered. Most people focus on the fact that the iron ax head floated, certainly a miracle; but I notice that Elisha focused on meeting the man’s need, even though it might have seemed trivial.

As moms, we sometimes feel our needs or wants are trivial. We don’t feel we are important or that we are accomplishing anything important, but we are. We are building a home. Hopefully it is a home where God’s Word and work are furthered. And God cares about the details. He wants to hear our “silly” prayers. He cares about our worries and concerns and He wants to meet our every need.

1 Peter 5:7 says cast the whole of your care, all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 1 Peter 5:7 (The Amplified Bible)

Many times God will use our “silly” little prayers and the answers He gives us to teach us about Himself and His purposes for us. We simply must ask for the spiritual vision to see the lessons. He wants to use our everyday life circumstances to draw us to Him, build our faith and ultimately change us into His likeness.

The next time you feel your prayer or need is silly or unimportant; remember the floating ax head and that God cares about the details.