God of the Little Things

They say you should always read the manual. However, sometimes there isn’t one, and you have to rely on intuition, experience, and the advice from others. We had a light bulb that blew, or at least I thought it had. It was one of those fluorescent strip lights in our kitchen, and although there was some evidence of life at either end of the tube, nothing would make the whole tube light up.

In my wisdom, I assumed the tube needed replacing and I duly purchased a new one. The old tube was rather well stuck in place, but I got it out, and in the process of fitting the new tube, the end pin broke off. I took the tube back to the supplier, who replaced it with a new one at no extra cost. I returned home with my new tube, but it was very difficult to fit – especially as I was wary of another break. Eventually the tube was fitted, and the switch depressed. Nothing happened, except that it flickered at the ends as the old one had done. I then realised that maybe it was the starter that was the problem.

Yet another trip to the supplier resulted in a pack of two new starters, costing less than half the price of the new tube. After a few moments fitting the starter, the new tube then lit up perfectly and all was well – except for over an hour and several trips to the shops spent in search of the remedy to our ‘delightful’ problem.

It occurred to me later that God must have known about my problem, and had I taken the time to pray about it, I would have saved myself time, money and embarrassment. Even though I have been a believer for over fifty years, this little problem slipped under the radar and caught me out.

Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). That means that every event of our lives is of interest to God, and also that he wants to be involved in them. Indeed He’s the God of the small things (Zechariah 4:10), and even sparrows and hairs are included in Father’s will (Matthew 10:29-31).

So next time you have a small problem, like a light bulb, why not stop and ask God what to do, instead of ploughing on in your own wisdom, as I did. It will save you time, anxiety, even money, perhaps. Incidentally, I found that the original tube still worked – it was the starter all along.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving us brains that we can use in our everyday lives. Thank You, too, that You have a much better wisdom that You’re willing to give us when we have to face the everyday issues of small things. We’re amazed that You’re interested in the details of our lives, ‘Even the very hairs of your head are numbered’ (Matthew 10:30). Amen.