The saying, “the devil is in the details” is commonly used to convey a message as to what may seem simple on the surface, details can be quite complicated and problematic. After using this phrase I decided I’m going to remove it from my vocabulary as it tends to deflect the conversation from what should really be discussed.
After reading today’s scriptures I thought, a better, true, and uplifting statement is “God is in the details” and we should praise him for it. In Exodus 28-30 God gives very specific, detailed instructions regarding:
- What priests should wear (Chapter 28)
- The consecration of the priests (Chapter 29)
- The altar and incense, a census tax, a basin for the priests to wash in, and anointing oils/incense (Chapter 30)
While those garments and procedures may not be something we think about today (and perhaps a bit of a struggle to read through), they are good reminders that God is in the details business. He has very specific plans (for our good), and he designed us for a very specific purpose (to know him, love him, and lead others to him). The details of our DNA are nothing short of astonishing; genetic code making each of the billions and billions of humans unique with no chance of duplication. He’s in the details of your worries, your joy, and your pain. He’s in the details of your yesterday, today, and tomorrow. You my friend were uniquely created and he loves you more than you know.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth. (Psalm 139:13-15)
Also in the details of God’s knowledge and design, our days are numbered.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:16)
- What are you going to do with the days you have left?
- What details of your life are you trying to push God out of?
- What details of your life do you need to be more thankful for?
As you consider the answers, reflect on the details of God’s perfect plan, fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Do your responses reflect the instructions set by God and the example set by Christ?
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:4-8)
Today’s reading: Exodus 28-31, Philippians 2