Our Glorious Father who reigns over all creation, hear our prayer today in the midst of our weakness, our suffering, our joys, our excitement, our anxiety, hear the prayer of your children this day. We come to you and ask that you would remind us yet again this day of who you are, and thereby remind us of who we are. We ask that you force us to remain faithful to you and to glorify you by enjoying you Father. Lavish your love on our bodies and our souls this day, do not let us grow weary, and grant us what it is your infinite wisdom knows we need. In Jesus name, Amen.
Have you ever worked under a boss who always micro-manages? I remember I used to work under a boss who had a philosophy that if you were working, you needed to be watched. I didn't like this boss very much, to say the least. I hate being micro-managed. It seems that when we are micro-managed, the person who is doing the micro-managing doesn't trust us. That they don't have faith that we can accomplish the goal they have told us to accomplish. Perhaps for some people, micro-managing is great, but I am not amongst those people.
A micro-manager is someone who looks at every detail of what you are doing, and tells you it has to be done a very specific way. Most people have different ways of doing things and getting a similar conclusion. For example, my boss may tell me to close the drawer, so I shut it using my foot, where as he may have used his hand to shut it; same result, different methods. Now we have run into a question: is God a micro-manager?
If we look back to the old testament scripture where Moses is getting instructions for building the ark or where the israelites are getting instructions from God for building a temple, it sure seems like God is micro-managing. Was God actually micro-managing or are we just understanding it wrong? I tell you the truth brothers and sisters, no matter how much you like it or not, our God is a God of details. He is not a God who only looks on the actions, he looks on the heart; he is not a God who only sacrificed his son, but sacrificed his son in the most gruesome of ways; he is not only a God who watches what happens, but planned what happens. Our God is a God who cares about the little things as well as the big things in life.
What can we learn from this? What lesson is there to take from the fact that we serve a God who genuinely cares about the details of our life, our faith, and our death? It means that a follower of Christ must also focus on the details. If you have a boss who focuses on the details, you better focus on the details as well to please your boss. God is kind of the same, except he is a Father. Our Father focuses on the details of our life, and because we, as his children, desire to please Him, we also need to focus on the details of life. For example, is what you are doing a calling from God or just busy-work? Is it something God has set upon your soul to accomplish or is it something to keep you busy for a while? Discernment there is very important. You can do something good that is outside your calling. Another example, why are you doing what you are doing? Because it glorifies you? Because you want to show off? Or because you want to bring glory to God? Lastly, is what you are doing righteous? Is it pleasing to God?
These are some practical questions the Christian can ask when faced with difficult decisions of life. Ask if God has lead you there and if your intentions are in the right spot. The great God we serve is a God who cares, not only about what we do, but about how we do what we do. He doesn't only want us to feed the homeless, he wants you to do it humbly and for his sake. He doesn't only want you to teach, he wants you to do it to the glory of God. God cares about the little and big, the important and unimportant. I, for one, am thankful that He does, because I'm not all that important.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:6-7
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