I had a discussion with someone months ago and I think about it from time-to-time. I was sharing with this person that I was having a problem at work that I couldn't solve and that I had asked the Lord to help me with it, and He did. The person I shared this with was convinced that the Lord didn't help me with it because He doesn't get involved in the minutia (trivial details). I don't believe that is true. I think He wants to be involved in every area of our life. I would like to share why I believe this.
My first thought on the subject isn't entirely tied to scripture; it is more a matter of scale or relativity. God created everything...the entire universe. He created the heavens and the earth and the things on the earth, living and not-living. Everything was created by Him and for Him, even down to the atomic and sub-atomic particles. Everything is held together by Him. To the God of the universe, how could any detail of a man's life be more trivial than any other detail? Look at it this way, a large SUV may be twice the size of a compact car, but viewed from the perspective of the entire earth, the difference in size is insignificant.
Since I am an engineer, I will ask a question from that perspective. Does God care about the trivial details of the day-to-day operation of the earth and the things on the earth? I believe He does. I talked to someone else about this subject and it was his belief that God set things into motion when He created the earth and then, in essence, took His hands off and let it run. I don't believe this is the case. I believe that even something as trivial as a leaf falling to the ground doesn't happen apart from God's will. I can't find where God talks about leaves falling, but He did talk about sparrows. In Matthew 10:29, Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father." What detail could be more trivial than that? Well, look at the next verse, "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." God loves you so much, that He numbers your hairs. What else in our life is more trivial than the number of hairs on our head?
God cares about every detail of our lives. In 1 Peter 5:7, we are told to cast all our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. Again, in Philippians 4:7, we are told, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." And again in Psalm 55:22, "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." So we should cast all, not just some, not just the important ones, but all of our anxieties and burdens on Him. He wants to carry them. He wants us to rest and be careful for nothing. (Not rest in a physical sense, but in our spirit) In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus said "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
God not only wants us to cast our burdens on Him, He wants to guide our lives. In Psalm 32:8 God tells us, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you." and in Proverbs 3:5-6 He tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
You might say that all of this only applies to spiritual things. But I say that our very lives and everything that we do with our lives should have but one purpose; to bring glory to God. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." So, how can something as trivial as eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, or tying your shoe bring glory to God? And why does God care about how you brush your teeth or tie your shoe? Furthermore, in general, what brings glory to God? The easiest way to answer that is to look at what doesn't bring glory to God.
So, then, what doesn't bring glory to God? The obvious, and correct, answer is sin. Sin doesn't bring glory to God. What is sin? God tells us in Romans 14:23, "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin." So the answer is plain, anything not done from faith is sin. Paul, again, uses the example of that trivial thing called eating. If eating, or anything else, is not done from faith, it is sin. When we normally think of sin, we think of murder, stealing, lying, pride, etc. But what did God say in Romans 14? He said that apart from Him even the basic and trivial necessity of eating is sin.
So what about those trivial details you think that God can't or won't be troubled with? The minutia of life! We think that God can't be bothered with them because to our way of thinking, they are insignificant in the "grand scheme of things." Yet we know from Isaiah 55:8-9 that God's ways are not our ways, they are higher than our ways. Do we trust what we think or what God says? There is a saying that people sometimes use, “The devil is in the details.” Meaning, that unless you consider the details, all of the possible ways something can go wrong, they will rise up and “bite you.” Conversely, this is also true in a spiritual sense. You will have trouble if God is not in the details, no matter how small. To God, no problem or anxiety or detail of our life is too large or too small for Him to bear. He asks us, by faith, to leave them at His feet and He will give us the peace that surpasses all understanding.
My first thought on the subject isn't entirely tied to scripture; it is more a matter of scale or relativity. God created everything...the entire universe. He created the heavens and the earth and the things on the earth, living and not-living. Everything was created by Him and for Him, even down to the atomic and sub-atomic particles. Everything is held together by Him. To the God of the universe, how could any detail of a man's life be more trivial than any other detail? Look at it this way, a large SUV may be twice the size of a compact car, but viewed from the perspective of the entire earth, the difference in size is insignificant.
Since I am an engineer, I will ask a question from that perspective. Does God care about the trivial details of the day-to-day operation of the earth and the things on the earth? I believe He does. I talked to someone else about this subject and it was his belief that God set things into motion when He created the earth and then, in essence, took His hands off and let it run. I don't believe this is the case. I believe that even something as trivial as a leaf falling to the ground doesn't happen apart from God's will. I can't find where God talks about leaves falling, but He did talk about sparrows. In Matthew 10:29, Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father." What detail could be more trivial than that? Well, look at the next verse, "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." God loves you so much, that He numbers your hairs. What else in our life is more trivial than the number of hairs on our head?
God cares about every detail of our lives. In 1 Peter 5:7, we are told to cast all our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. Again, in Philippians 4:7, we are told, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." And again in Psalm 55:22, "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." So we should cast all, not just some, not just the important ones, but all of our anxieties and burdens on Him. He wants to carry them. He wants us to rest and be careful for nothing. (Not rest in a physical sense, but in our spirit) In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus said "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
God not only wants us to cast our burdens on Him, He wants to guide our lives. In Psalm 32:8 God tells us, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you." and in Proverbs 3:5-6 He tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
You might say that all of this only applies to spiritual things. But I say that our very lives and everything that we do with our lives should have but one purpose; to bring glory to God. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." So, how can something as trivial as eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, or tying your shoe bring glory to God? And why does God care about how you brush your teeth or tie your shoe? Furthermore, in general, what brings glory to God? The easiest way to answer that is to look at what doesn't bring glory to God.
So, then, what doesn't bring glory to God? The obvious, and correct, answer is sin. Sin doesn't bring glory to God. What is sin? God tells us in Romans 14:23, "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin." So the answer is plain, anything not done from faith is sin. Paul, again, uses the example of that trivial thing called eating. If eating, or anything else, is not done from faith, it is sin. When we normally think of sin, we think of murder, stealing, lying, pride, etc. But what did God say in Romans 14? He said that apart from Him even the basic and trivial necessity of eating is sin.
So what about those trivial details you think that God can't or won't be troubled with? The minutia of life! We think that God can't be bothered with them because to our way of thinking, they are insignificant in the "grand scheme of things." Yet we know from Isaiah 55:8-9 that God's ways are not our ways, they are higher than our ways. Do we trust what we think or what God says? There is a saying that people sometimes use, “The devil is in the details.” Meaning, that unless you consider the details, all of the possible ways something can go wrong, they will rise up and “bite you.” Conversely, this is also true in a spiritual sense. You will have trouble if God is not in the details, no matter how small. To God, no problem or anxiety or detail of our life is too large or too small for Him to bear. He asks us, by faith, to leave them at His feet and He will give us the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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