TO CHEW ON: "'Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows'" Luke 12:6,7
Writer and editor Bret Lott felt discouraged in late 2005. After six months in a new job as the editor of The Southern Review, he had found no time to write for months and questions filled his mind, questions like: Does my writing matter? What's the point? Have I made any difference at all?
On December 13th he recalls (in his book Letters and Life): "That morning I prayed to God that, despite how self-centered I was being in asking this, he would give me a sign, that he would somehow let me know that, well yes, I was making a difference, and that he would do it today. That day, Tuesday, December 13th" -Bret Lott, Letters and Life, Kindle Location 791.
He was on the lookout for signs all day, but nothing. Despite the silence, he recalls that he had peace when he crawled into bed that night, for he knew he was worthwhile, not because of anything he had written but because God loved him as shown by Jesus' death for him.
The next morning, however, when he checked his email, there was a letter from someone he'd never met, telling him how his book had deeply affected his life. And guess what the date stamp on the email read? 11:59 p.m., December 13th!
A few days later he got a letter by surface mail from a women who had read another of his books. It also described how deeply the book had impacted her. The postmark on the letter? December 13!
Though Lott, with his story, makes the case for precision in writing because we serve a precise God, I think we can apply the care and precision Lott's story shows to God's interactions with us in all of life. The God who tilted the earth at the exact angle and placed it at the exact distance from the sun to support life, who programmed a timetable of development into the embryo of a human baby is the God of our moments and days too. He sees you and me. He knows the second-by-second happenings in our lives. He is aware. He cares. Do not fear.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your words of care reported by Luke illustrated by the anecdote of Your servant. Help me today to be alert to Your care for me. Amen.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.
