God Is in the Details

God protects us even when we are unaware

I was almost in a wreck about two weeks ago taking my kids to school.  It was the morning of the last large snow and ice storm. Thankfully, God protects us all the time, even when we are unaware.

We were driving along the lake and the boys wanted to be in the left lane to see the check for ships.  Its the time of year we start to see ice breakers breaking up the ice so cargo ships can have safe passage. My boys love spotting the ships on the way to and from school. 

Mistaken opportunities 

We were nearing the school and I knew I needed to merge over to make the right hand turn.  When I started merging, I realized there was a car in the right lane. It had slowed down to make its own turn and was barely moving. I couldn’t see it around the landscaping truck that was in front of me.  

Sliding on ice

I attempted to merge back into the left lane but the roads were super icy from yesterday’s storm and I started to slide.  I watched, in growing panic, as we got closer and closer to the car, knowing I had no control over the situation and the outcome was out of my hands.

At nearly the last second, the tires gripped the road and we managed to get back in the left lane but I over compensated. We started sliding the other way.  I’m grateful traffic was light, there was no one immediately around us, and we had room to maneuver. It still took a few large fishtails back and forth, and a light bump on a snow drift, before we were safely headed straight again. 

I went from thinking we were going to hit a car to thinking we were going to end up stuck in a snow drift before all was calm and we were safely headed straight again.  

How often do we think we have things under control?

Do you often think you have things under control? Does it surprise you when everything suddenly seems to derail and you find yourself attacked by the enemy? Do you find yourself facing health issues, relationship issues, parenting issues? How often are we metaphorically driving along thinking everything is fine only to find out we are on the edge of calamity?

I know I can be guilty of spending a lot of time on autopilot thinking things are, or should be, fine until something shakes me out of it. I spend a lot of time thinking I have things handled and that God isn’t concerned with the mundane things and tiny details until I suddenly find something in my life fishtailing and sliding out from under me.

Staying diligent

When I got to school I inspected my van for damage and was surprised to find that my wheel wells were impacted with snow and ice. They were full enough my tires could barely turn and were scraping ice when they did so.  I’m pretty sure my brakes are full of slush as well.  I pulled into the parking lot to kick the snow out of the wheel wells as best I could before driving home.

If I had thought to check before driving, I may have saved a lot of trouble but its our first really big snow fall this year and it slipped my mind because I’m out of the habit of checking for ice.  I wasn’t diligent. But even if I had remembered to de-ice the wheel wells, it’s no guarantee that my morning would have been any different. I’ll never know if that ice contributed to the situation or not. I do know that God protected my family and provided a safe way out of a dangerous situation.

God protects us even when we’re unaware

I remember hearing a Pastor make the point once that God protects us even when we are unaware.  Often times little things can make a big difference.  We hear stories of people who were running late and saw a horrible traffic accident on their way to work. I remember reading a story of a 9/11 survivor who wasn’t in the building because his new shoes were causing blisters and he stopped to buy some moleskin. Would the first person have been in it if they hadn’t had to look for a shoe or car key?  They’ll never know but it is a possibility. For the second person, the correlation is clear and obvious. God orchestrated a long string of events to change one little outcome.

This morning, God’s hand was obvious as we avoided a collision and stayed safe on the road.  We missed hitting them by less than a car length. God’s protection was apparently.

But I could have chosen to over look it.

See God’s finger prints is a choice. Looking for those signs takes effort on our part. It is a choice to notice the details and attribute them to my Maker. I could very easily believe I got lucky. Instead I choose to see his hand manipulating time and events in a way that provided just what was needed to prevent anything serious from occurring.

Thankfully, God actively protected us this morning, for my guardian angels who worked hard to change the course our car was on, for the large pile of snow God placed exactly where it needed to be for us to bump without any damage and for clear spots of pavement in just the right places for our tires to grip.  All of those are the kind of details only God could orchestrate.  That’s a level of coordination and alignment that, to me, can only be divine.

We often hear the quote ‘the devil is in the details’ but I disagree. I usually find God in them.  When I take the time to sit down and pay attention, I see his finger prints all over my situations.

I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? 

As I was driving home from dropping off the boys, I couldn’t help but think about the symbolism of all I had seen this morning. I was given an important reminder this morning to be grateful for God’s protection .

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Just like the ice breakers going before the ships on the lake, God goes before us. To me, the way may look utterly impassible and I don’t know how I’ll get through something.  All I see is obstacles and hindrances.  But God knows where I need to go and He knows how He is going to get me there.  Sometimes it takes blind obedience and following directly in his footsteps, trusting that He is able to make a way where their doesn’t seem to be one.  

I can choose to step in faith or I can refuse to move saying there are too many obstacles. I can’t do this. But I know I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me (Phil 4:13 ESV).

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber

Snow plows worked hard all night to clear and salt the roads. The snowplows worked tirelessly to get the job done before the morning rush of traffic.  I was grateful to know dad was loving and generous enough to get up early to shovel the driveway and clean off my car so it was ready to take the kids to school. Likewise, God works the night shift setting things up and doing the prep work so that our paths are clear and safe to be on by the time we need them.  Unbeknownst to us, God is always guiding and protecting.  God’s protection and provision are all around is if we take the time to genuinely look. God knows exactly what we need and can arrange for help. 

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

Sometimes God is in the details. A lost set of keys.  Traffic lights that all seem to turn red.  A flat tire.  We may not ever know why we are being slowed down. While the slow-downs can be a source of frustration, often a change of perspective is all that is needed to see them in a new light.  Instead of being annoyed, we can choose to see these as an invitation.  We can use them as a reminder to be grateful for God’s protection and a chance to look for his fingerprints on our lives.

Like wise, God provides for us in ways we don’t always notice. Similar to how He placed a convenient snow bank, God places people and situations in our lives to help. A kind word, someone with the item or skill we happen to need, a lost item suddenly reappearing… They’re all the fingerprints of God arranging our days.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

The Lord will keep your going and coming forevermore!  What a beautiful promise!.  I can rest in the knowledge that, no matter what happens, my path is laid out before me and is part of God’s plan.  It isn’t my job to understand it or to know what comes next.  All I need to do is look for the signs along the way that God is there and he has everything under control.  

My challenge to you today is this:  be mindful of the little things. 

We don’t usually have big moments where our car physically changes direction. But God sends us signs all the time telling us whether or not we are on the right path if we are willing to pay attention.  Mundane moments where we can easily over look God’s fingerprints can fill our lives and take over if we are vigilant. I want to be more diligent about looking for God in the little moments where things seem to be normal and remember to thank Him for the tiny things that allow for things to go smoothly.  I want to remember to thank God for His protection, especially when I’m not aware He is protecting me. Let’s remember that His thoughts and ways are higher than our own and that He will go before us in the big… and little… things.  Always.

Psalm 121 (ESV)

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?  

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

He will keep your life.

The Lord will keep 

your going out and your coming in 

from this time forth and forevermore.

Prayer

Father,

Thank you for keeping my family safe today and every day.  I am grateful for your obvious help today and all of the times you have provided it in the past.  Thank you for the times you have protected us without us ever realizing it. Thank you for the reminder that you guide our paths and arrange every moment whether we see it our not.  I ask that you open our eyes to see your fingerprints:  help us to see those interventions and remind us to be grateful and not grumble over the ways you maneuver us in time and space.  

Father, we lift our eyes to you and ask you to be our help and our shelter. I ask you to be our help at all times and not just when we know we are in need.  We need your protection in all things, especially the ones we can’t see and aren’t aware of. We claim the promise that you will keep us and guide us and guard our paths as we come and go, forevermore.

In Jesus’ name