God is in the Details

God is intimately concerned with the details of our lives.   The Psalmist wrote in the 139th Psalm:1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

The Lord knows our hearts, he is very acquainted with all our ways - He even knows our thoughts...and He desires for us to surrender every aspect of our lives to Him, recognizing His wisdom and His sovereignty.   We can be confident that we can trust Him.

In Proverbs 8, we read about the importance of wisdom:
11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. 13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

Today is the birthday of German architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, who is a leading force in post-World War I architecture, whose designs are characterized by a "less is more" concept, with clean lines and open spaces.   According to the Washington Post,

Mies’s self-described ”skin and bones” architecture of fluid minimalism would spread from Barcelona to his Illinois campus, and then back to Berlin. He would go on to design such structures as the Highfield House and One Charles Center in Baltimore, Chicago’s “twin towers,"...and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington.

His crowning achievement, Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was head of the architecture school, is featured on today's Google Doodle on the 126th anniversary of his birth.   He died in 1969.

Not only did Van Der Rohe use the phrase, "less is more", but also the phrase, "God is in the details", which is a variation on the familiar, "the devil's in the details".   And, I don't know if Mr. Mies was attributing any real spiritual meaning to the phrase, but I believe it can be instructive for us.   Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz wrote, "God is in the Small Stuff", reminding us that He is concerned about the details of our lives...

I think we tend to put barriers around areas we feel are insignificant, in addition to those parts of our lives we just want to control ourselves, and don't surrender those things to God.  

But, I believe as we submit the details of life to the Lord, depending on His wisdom and allowing His Spirit to flood those areas with truth and fresh perspective, then we could experience a greater measure of His peace, and have the potential to be less stressed out or frustrated.   "God is in the details" - for instance, in the Bible, we see the precision with which He gave instructions to his people regarding the construction of the Temple or the duties of the priesthood.   He's a God who wants to be intimately involved in the details of our lives.