A humorous thing happened in the Sunday school class that I attend with my wife yesterday. Our teacher was talking about God loving and caring for us. He asked us to share a time in which something happened that we were confused about, that we didn’t know why God was allowing it, but now that we reflect on it we can see what God was doing. So as stories were being shared, one lady who had gone through a particularly difficult time recently started to share her story. She talked about how she had thrown a box away not realizing that her cat loved that box. Since she threw it away, the cat was not acting the same, and it dawned on this lady why the cat was acting this way. However, she didn’t have a new box for the cat. As she was working and praying one day, she heard something fall in her closet. When she went to the closet, she noticed something fell, but even more important, up on the shelf there was a box she could give to her cat. She told us that she just sat down and wept, overcome with emotion, and she said, “God you even care about the box.” She like many of us had forgotten that God cares about our life, including the small, seemingly insignificant details of our life. Our teacher then reminded us of something we heard J.D. Greear say the previous week in our online Bible study. Greear said, “we trust God to meet our greatest need in life, the need to be saved from our sin. Why is it that we don’t trust Him with the other details of our life?” I have to admit that was a powerful quote from J.D. Greear, and a great reminder from our teacher.
Maybe you find yourself in a tough place today. Life isn’t going the way that you hoped it would, or things are happening that you never thought you would go through. You feel like you are at or rapidly reaching the end of your rope. I hope to encourage you through two passages of Scripture. The first one is found in Matthew 10. Jesus is talking about how the disciples would experience difficult times in their life as they took a stand for Him. In Matthew 10:29-31 Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” A sparrow was a small, seemingly insignificant bird; however, Jesus said that God even knows when one of those sparrows dies. And Jesus says that we are even more valuable than the sparrows. Therefore, if God cares enough about the sparrows to know when one dies, how much more does He care for you and I in what we are going through? The second passage is found in Matthew 6. In Matthew 6:24-34, Jesus is talking about the futility of worrying. He tells us not to worry about food, clothing, or shelter. Jesus says that we should think about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Neither of those work to produce what they need, yet God makes sure they have everything they need. Jesus then tells us not to worry, because God already knows what we need. Implied in that statement is that not only does He know what we need, but He already has a plan to provide what we need. That frees us up to do as He says in Matthew 6:33, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
The point is simply this, God loves you and cares about you. You are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). God loves you so much that He died in your place (Rom. 5:8). If God provided the remedy for your biggest problem, sin, then you can trust that He will provide for your needs, even the ones that you don’t think are a big deal. Is something weighing heavy on your heart? Is there a decision you need to make? Is there something you are worrying about? Take it to God in prayer. We often sing a hymn at Westlake Baptist that has these lyrics, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer” (“What A Friend We Have in Jesus-Joseph Scriven). It’s true that God already knows that what we need, and He already has a plan to provide for us. But we take it to Him in prayer as a demonstration of our faith and trust in Him, that He has the answer and the provision we need. The next time you find yourself worried, stressed out, and strung out about something just remember, God cares about the box (and every little detail of your life as well)!
Pastor Justin