“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” – Psalm 139:13
It’s really amazing to think about how detail-oriented God is. What little bit I know of the wonder of DNA, it boggles my mind to think of how much goes into just one person, one living body.
Being someone that notices and appreciates details, it’s neat to think that my God is also like this, that He intricately designs what He creates. He is not careless nor does He work haphazardly. The words precision and care and intention come to mind.
“Thus says God, the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and what comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on itand spirit to those who walk in it:” – Isaiah 42:5
But God also sees the big picture. He created it all. He is a God of vision and able to orchestrate trillions and trillions of events at the same time. He is the ultimate Multi-Tasker and Vision Caster. He composes and conducts with competence and a capacity that is unfathomable.
As His creation, we tend to have one of these two strengths or bents. We can usually either more easily see the picture as a whole, or we are ones that focus on a few specific details, not as quick to see what the combination of the details reveals.
But not our God. He doesn’t lose sight of His bigger plan when He looks at our individual lives. He also doesn’t lose sight of me, of you, when He looks at His bigger plan. He weaves the two beautifully together, allowing us the opportunity to participate in what He is doing all the while completing what He has started in each of us personally (see Philippians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
Isaiah, after reciting God’s previous accomplishments in creating the universe, goes on to say in chapter 42, verse 6, “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;I will take you by the hand and keep you;”
He is faithful to His creation, His plan, and His purposes. He calls us to Himself, redeems us through Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, and then He empowers us through His Holy Spirit to join Him in what He desires to complete, the redemption of His creation.
He loves us and it’s not about us. Please note the importance of the word “and” here. I used to say “He loves me, but it’s not about me,” as though His plans somehow took away from His love for me. That I was important, but not as important as what He wanted to accomplish. But I think that subtle difference between ‘and’ and ‘but’ make a world of difference. It’s like saying if God truly loves me and wants my best, then something has to be compromised in His ultimate plan. Or vice versa. But God is not a God of scarcity. He doesn’t miss something happening in His creation when He is tending to me, and He doesn’t neglect me when He is tending to someone else. I don’t believe it has to be one or the other. I believe that God completely loves us and that He has a much bigger plan to accomplish than we will ever fully grasp. And because He loves us so much, we are invited into the story. We can help progress the plot line. But my pride has to take a backseat, because ultimately I am not the point of it all, andmy soul can breathe a sigh of relief that ultimately He will accomplish His purposes regardless of me, my inadequacies, and my imperfection.
and, not but
Jenny“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” – Psalm 139:13
It’s really amazing to think about how detail-oriented God is. What little bit I know of the wonder of DNA, it boggles my mind to think of how much goes into just one person, one living body.
Being someone that notices and appreciates details, it’s neat to think that my God is also like this, that He intricately designs what He creates. He is not careless nor does He work haphazardly. The words precision and care and intention come to mind.
“Thus says God, the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and what comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:” – Isaiah 42:5
But God also sees the big picture. He created it all. He is a God of vision and able to orchestrate trillions and trillions of events at the same time. He is the ultimate Multi-Tasker and Vision Caster. He composes and conducts with competence and a capacity that is unfathomable.
As His creation, we tend to have one of these two strengths or bents. We can usually either more easily see the picture as a whole, or we are ones that focus on a few specific details, not as quick to see what the combination of the details reveals.
But not our God. He doesn’t lose sight of His bigger plan when He looks at our individual lives. He also doesn’t lose sight of me, of you, when He looks at His bigger plan. He weaves the two beautifully together, allowing us the opportunity to participate in what He is doing all the while completing what He has started in each of us personally (see Philippians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
Isaiah, after reciting God’s previous accomplishments in creating the universe, goes on to say in chapter 42, verse 6, “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;”
He is faithful to His creation, His plan, and His purposes. He calls us to Himself, redeems us through Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, and then He empowers us through His Holy Spirit to join Him in what He desires to complete, the redemption of His creation.
He loves us and it’s not about us. Please note the importance of the word “and” here. I used to say “He loves me, but it’s not about me,” as though His plans somehow took away from His love for me. That I was important, but not as important as what He wanted to accomplish. But I think that subtle difference between ‘and’ and ‘but’ make a world of difference. It’s like saying if God truly loves me and wants my best, then something has to be compromised in His ultimate plan. Or vice versa. But God is not a God of scarcity. He doesn’t miss something happening in His creation when He is tending to me, and He doesn’t neglect me when He is tending to someone else. I don’t believe it has to be one or the other. I believe that God completely loves us and that He has a much bigger plan to accomplish than we will ever fully grasp. And because He loves us so much, we are invited into the story. We can help progress the plot line. But my pride has to take a backseat, because ultimately I am not the point of it all, and my soul can breathe a sigh of relief that ultimately He will accomplish His purposes regardless of me, my inadequacies, and my imperfection.