::Numbered Hairs::

~Laura-Lew photography~

We have been so sobered recently by little trials. You know the minor ones that are really nothing more than an inconvenience. The ones that can pile up and tempt one to weariness. Sinus infections, stomach viruses, towed cars, and most recently a car accident that we are pretty sure totaled Lew's new car. More than anything in God's kindness we have been able to see these trivial trials as an act of God's love and kindness towards us. Not only do they make us more dependent on Him, but they remind us of His Sovereignty in allowing them, knowing that He would never allow them if they were not for our good. We see these "little" trials as perhaps a means God uses to prepare us and train us for bigger ones. And what a kind God we serve, He knows exactly how much we can handle and never seeks to frustrate us or exasperate us. We have seen lots of people suffering to much greater degrees lately. A dear friend who lost her little 5 week old baby girl has been such an example of how to walk through suffering in a God glorifying way. I see families like these who have faced so much grief, and I pray "God teach me to suffer with such faith."

We have so much to be thankful for. In the midst of it all God protected us and protected our unborn daughter. I am reminded of that as she is kicking me while I type this. But more than that God is using this trial as a means to sharpen our faith and teach us perseverance and total dependence on Him. The amazing truth of it all, is God cares. God doesn't just care when we are walking through big trials, but even the smallest most trivial of trials. He cares. I was reminded of that when I read Spurgeon's "Beside Still Waters" this morning:

Numbered Hairs. Matthew 10:30
I beg you to believe that God is in the little things, even the little troubles that can annoy the most. At times, you can endure the loss of a dear friend better than a minor accident. The pebble in your shoe makes you limp but you can jump over great stones.

God arranges the smallest things. Take little troubles as they come, and remember them to your God because they come from Him. Nothing that concerns His people is small to God. Your little anxieties are not too small for His notice, for "the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matt 10:30). You may pray to Him about your smallest grief. If not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from your Father's will (Matt. 10:29), they you have reason to see that He arranges the smallest events in your career. So accept them with joy. This is a truth on which you may implicitly rely. Think about it until you lull the sharpest pain, calm the most feverish excitement, and obtain the sweetest rest that a weary, restless spirit can indulge in.

This is the antidote of fear: God appoints everything in the future, so rejoice that everything is in the hand of the great King. The Lord is King! Rejoice:

The Lord is King' who then shall dare
Resist His will, distrust His care,
Or murmur at His wise degrees,
Or doubt His royal promises?
Oh! When His wisdom can mistake
His might decay, His love forsake
Then may His children cease to sing,
The Lord Omnipotent is King.

Amen! Either way, we would love your prayers. Prayers for our hearts as we wait for the other insurance company to accept liability, and provision as we may have to pay some expenses out of pocket while we wait for reimbursement.