The Benefits of Detail

Good morning my friends,

You look tired. Did you find there was too much detail in this morning’s reading? As we read Exodus 29 and 30 you might find yourself yawning or contemplating skipping this section; others do. I encourage you to press on. As I said yesterday, there is significant purpose behind each one of these things that are being described to us. However, if you do not have time today to research all of these items then consider this one thing: it is good that our God is into details.

Let us consider another item that he gives great detail to; us. He knows us so well because he is into details. In fact, he knows us far better than ourselves. The great company Google also knows us better than ourselves as they keep tabs on what we search for on the internet and then they know what ads to throw our way. However, the Father knows us far more intimately than this and for a better reason.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

Now there is detail for you. As a child I imagined there was one angel assigned to every person just to count their hair every day. Now I imagine my angel working more with subtraction than addition. The fact is we change; the number of hairs, our height, our weight, our preferences in food and friends, our goals, our ideals and so on, yet God is up to date on everything. This is what we cannot forget about our God:

O LORD, you have searched me

and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD. (Psalm 139:1-4)


Before it is even on my tongue he knows the words I will speak. Some people find this unbelievable but we all do it, to a lesser extent. When we know someone really well we can often guess what they will say before they say it. This can be extremely funny between parent and child because they know each other very well. With the Father it is even more so because he has known the details even before they existed:


For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)


Not even a parent knows their child this well. The Father is privy to our most private, secret and embarrassing stuff. He does not read our diaries and journals; he does not need to. He is actually right there experiencing every moment with us. He has done this from the beginning. Some things he has rejoiced in with us. Other things he has abhorred and he remembers those who have harmed us. He knows it all and that is why we read:


But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)


Even though he knows everything, the good, the bad and the ugly, Jesus Christ still went all the way for us. He went all the way because the Father knew there was no other way to rescue us. He knew we were enslaved and there was no way out. He knew that no matter how hard we tried we could not rescue ourselves. He knew the details of our difficulties and he did something about it.


I for one am very happy the Father knows the details. I am glad he knows the good and the bad. I am glad because his attention to these details reminds me that he loves me beyond any love I can experience from anyone else. It also means he will help me take care of the bad stuff. It is better to deal with it here and now than when we are standing before him on that day of judgment.


So be glad and rejoice. He is God. We are his people. And he is here with us.