Does God Care?
Have you ever had a friend who pays super close attention? You know, you make a passing comment to them about something you’ve always wanted, and then the next time they get you a gift it has that thing you mentioned? Crazy part is, you don’t even remember telling them! They just know and love the details of you and your friendship!
The past few weeks have been full of firsts, unknowns and surprises, and a lot of me acting in faith. Throughout this time, there have been several moments that I have felt very lonely and completely lost in the hustle and bustle of life. Still, the Lord has been good to show me how He is a God of details. He doesn’t just create us, offer us a way to escape the brokenness we live in, save us through faith and repentance, and then leave us alone until we seek forgiveness. Rather, after I trust Him for salvation, God - through the Holy Spirit - comes to dwell inside of me, therefore God is always with me.
He knows me so intimately and intricately (I mean, He literally designed and formed us in our mothers’ wombs [Psalm 139:13]), so why wouldn’t He care about the details of my life?
I remember reading the end of Job recently where God responds to Job’s questions. Chapter 38 is 41 verses of God asking Job who strung the stars, who closed in the ocean, who tells the lightning where it should go, and other massive and large-scale things. Then the very first verse in chapter 39 appears, and it has come to my mind continually over the past few days and weeks.
God asks Job, “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does?” (39:1, ESV)
Woah.
God is not asking Job if he knows the season in which mountain goats mate and then do the math to find when they give birth. He’s not asking if Job has seen a mountain goat give birth. No, God asks Job if he knows the exact moment when the mountain goats give birth.
I find the contrast between chapters 38 and 39 so fascinating, because God, knowing that one day I would feel lonely and like He doesn’t see me struggling, shows Job (and everyone else) that not only does He tell the waves where to stop on the shore and tell the sun where to stand in the sky (38:11-13), but he also sees when the mountain goats give birth, and He can count the months that a goat and doe are pregnant, therefore knowing exactly when they will begin going into labor. Again…woah.
As I’ve thought about this passage, I’ve been reminded that God really does see us. Similar to Matthew 6 where Jesus is talking about how the Father clothes the lilies of the field and cares for the grass that just dies in the heat the next day (so why would He not care about His children?), I had the thought if God pays attention and knows the details of the mountain goat and doe, why would I think He ignores me and does not see me?
Furthermore, His Word (the Bible) tells me that He sees me and knows me (Psalm 139). Still, my human flesh believes the lie from Satan that God does not care, which causes me to feel lonely instead of fully known. If I believe that God sent Jesus to live the perfect life that I could not live, and die the death that I deserved to die, but I still think that He is too distant to care about the specifics of my life, I’m not living my life in light of the Gospel. Instead, because I am united with Christ, I have the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit, which means I am fully known.
Praise God that He who has snow and hail in storehouses (Job 38:22) also knows when I sit down and when I stand up, what I’m going to think before I think it, and is Someone from whose presence I can never escape (Psalm 139; vv. 1-4 & 7-10).
He made me (Psalm 139:13), and He knows me (Psalm 139:1-4), and He is always with me (Matthew 28:20). Praise God for these truths, and praise God for his Spirit that is present and with me always, eliminating reason for me to think I am alone.
*Lillie Watson is originally from Prince Avenue in Athens, GA. She is spending her summer on mission in Boston and serving King’s Hill.