More Clever than you Give Him Credit for
Amy the beaver was very sad. she had been playing with her little wooden doll and using its tail to scoop mud. Only the mud had been too dry and the doll's tail had broken. When her mother saw what had happened, she said "go take it to your father. He can fix it."
"Nobody can fix it." said Amy mopily. "It will never be whole again!"
"Amy, look around you." said her mother. "What do you see?"
"I see the lake."
"And who made the lake?"
"Father."
"That's right. He built the dam. He flooded the meadow and made the lake, then he built our lodge. Even the forest around the lake is only here because he provided the trees with water."
"But that's just it. Father makes BIG things. My doll's tail is a little thing."
"Just go and ask, you silly beaver."
"Father isn't going to care about small things." said the little beaver. But when she arrived and told her father about the doll, he immediately showed concern. Then, very carefull, he took a piece of lumber and carefully carved out a new tail with his teeth, which he then atached to the doll in place of the old one.
"I didn't think you'd be able to do it." confessed his daughter.
"Me not able?" said Dad. "Who do you think made that doll in the first place?"
While it may seem silly for Amy to doubt her father's ability, many of us do the same thing with our Heavenly Father. when something is wrong, when there is some financial hardship or sickness or a relationship gone pear-shaped, many of us assume thayt the creatpor of the universe is either unable or unwilling to work in our lives on such a small scale. But God is a lot more clever than we give Him credit for.
There is a proverb which you might know: "The devil is in the details". Well, I don't know about that, but I do know that God is in the details. Consider this: How many species do you need to make a functioning ecosystem? Three. You need one species of plant, one species of animal and one species of bacteria. God could have made this world function with a very minimal amount of effort. But he didn't. He made a wide variety of life forms spanning five different kingdoms. Six if you count viruses. He made the strawberry taste different from the watermelon. He put different nutrients in the trout than you'll find in a carrot. He made some animals able to eat hay, others chicken and others krill. He even made a few diseases that give you a slightly run-down feeling but shore up your defenses against the more dangerous ones.
Look at the bulletin cover- the dinosaurs were wondrous beasts. God made those for the people who lived thousands of years ago. we may never see them, but we have discovered creatures which they never knew about, from the dust mite to the tricycle fish. And I fully believe that there are creatures which future generations will see in the zoo which we are only marginally aware of today.
The world which God has made for us is wonderful and rich and complex. It stands as a testament to God's creativity and ingenuity. We can see that God is able to handle the little things as well as the big. But that still doesn't answer the question: "Does God care about me?" It's a natural question. Let's face it, God does have a tendancy to make one feel insignificant through no fault of his own. Let's look at a few passages of scripture that answer the question "does God care about individuals?"
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
God cares for individuals. But so that we may be encouraged about this, we're taking tonight's message in a slightly different direction. I would like each of you to share with us some point at which God has proven to you that He cares for you as an individual.
Today's reading: Luke 11:1-13
1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?