Since we last checked in with George and Mary, their ministry has grown again and George's health has been an issue. Currently in my reading he has be granted some time off in Trowbridge to rest and hopefully gain some measure of health before returning to work. I thought I would post one of his entries so you would see how God takes care of him. Even the most minor details of George's life, God cares about those and sees to George's needs.
"September 7. I arrived in Trowbridge . This has been a very good day. I had much communion with the Lord. How kind He is to take me from the work in Bristol for a season and give me more communion with Himself. I remembered the Lord's special blessing on me in this place at the beginning of last year. How kind He has been since! I prayed much for myself, for the Church at large, for the saints here and in Bristol, for my unconverted relatives, for my dear wife, and that the Lord would supply my own temporal necessities and those of the orphans"
[FYI...in Bristol they have 3 orphan houses with about 250 children living in them and they pray daily for their needs as they live only by what the Lord sends them].
"I know that He has heard me. I am surrounded with kind friends and I feel quite at home. My room is far better than I need, but an easy chair to kneel before in prayer would add to my comfort since my body is so weak.
In the afternoon, without making a hint about it, I found that someone had placed and easy chair into my room. I was amazed by the special kindness of my heavenly Father. He is mindful of the smallest wants and comforts of his children."
As I read this portion of George's story, I was struck again at how the Father delights in His children and gives good gifts. No, he doesn't always heal us, or take away struggle/sorrow/strife but He still delights in us. God didn't heal George but saw a small detail and granted George some comfort in his ordeal. Often I look to God to fix it all but forget that sometimes it's in the small comforts He gives us through the challenges that really show us His heart and character.
If I were a parent, I would delight in giving my children small things that would make them smile up at me, letting them know how much of my heart they have captured. How much more does God the Father do that for us? How much more does Jesus the Bridegroom delight in His bride? How much more does Holy Spirit want to shower us with good gifts?
This week my friend AR came from Winnipeg to visit. God gifted me with the ability to pick her up from the airport, time to spend with her during the next day while she got to participate in an afternoon at camp. It was a gift to have her here just at the right time and to be able to share my space with her. She so willingly opens her home to me when I go home to visit and I was excited to do the same for her. God was even in the timing of me picking her up from the airport. I was late due to torrential rains but she got to the luggage carousel just as I parked my car....how great is the God of details! I am so thankful that He is working those details out for me!
There is nothing in our lives that God is too big and important to care about. I find comfort in this, as it is the small details of life that add up to overwhelm us. It is also the small details that if we steward well, God sees and will grant us larger tasks. I am thankful that God works in the details because it is in these small things that I feel cherished and loved by him, not just the large requests that I make. It's like having an earthly friend who knows your favourite meal and prepares that one when you come visit. You know they care because they took note of something important to you and blessed you with it. Or the friend who drops off your favourite cookies just because, or calls you just to catch up, or leaves a pile of wood by your doorstep because they heard you were out (I still haven't found out who did this, but I was so blessed by it, not because I would have been cold but because wood heat is so much nicer than the baseboard heat that is the other option)!
That is God! He takes note of things in my/your life that you like, that you are good at, that would bless you and then works in those details to bring you delight. Some people would say that is coincidence but I know my God, who is for me, loves to make me smile and works in the details....to His glory.
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