our daily bread
Dexu Xia
God in the Details
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9
When my “chocolate” Labrador retriever puppy was three months old, I took him to the veterinarian’s office for his shots and checkup. As our vet carefully looked him over, she noticed a small white marking in his fur on his left hind paw. She smiled and said to him, “That’s where God held you when He dipped you in chocolate.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. But she had unintentionally made a meaningful point about the deep and personal interest God takes in His creation.
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9
Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:30 that “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” God is so great that He is able to take infinite interest in the most intimate details of our lives. There is nothing so small that it escapes His notice, and there is no concern too trivial to bring before Him. He simply cares that much.
God not only created us; He sustains and keeps us through every moment. It’s sometimes said that “the devil is in the details.” But it’s better by far to understand that God is in them, watching over even the things that escape our notice. How comforting it is to know that our perfectly wise and caring heavenly Father holds us—along with all of creation—in His strong and loving hands.
Loving Lord, I praise You for the wonder of Your creation. Help me to reflect Your compassion by taking care of what You’ve made.
God attends to our every need.
上帝在细节里
耶和华善待万民，祂的慈悲覆庇祂一切所造的。-诗篇145篇9节
我的拉布拉多幼犬名为巧克力，它三个月大的时候，我带它到兽医那里打预防针、做健康检查。当兽医仔细检查时，特别注意到在它左后方的脚掌上，有一小撮白色的毛。兽医微笑着对它说：“原来上帝就是抓着这里，把你浸泡在巧克力里的。”
我忍不住笑了。这位兽医倒是在无意中阐述了一个意味深长的论点，那就是上帝深切关心祂所创造的每一个受造物。
在马太福音10章30节，耶稣告诉我们：“就是你们的头发也都被数过了。”上帝虽是伟大至高的，但祂仍注意到我们生活中最小的细节，没有任何一件事小到可以逃避上帝的注意，也没有任何挂虑小到不足以带到祂面前。祂就是这么关心我们。
上帝不只创造我们，而且祂还每时刻扶持、保守我们。西方有句话这么说：“魔鬼藏在细节里。”其实，更好的说法是上帝在我们生活的每个细节中，祂看顾保守连我们都没注意到的事情。那位有诸般智慧、满怀关爱的天父，将我们连同所有的受造物都放在祂满有能力和慈爱的手中，这是多么令人欣慰啊！
慈爱的主，我赞美祢，因祢的创造奇妙。
求祢帮助我，透过细心管理祢所创造的一切，
反映祢的怜悯。
上帝看顾我们的每样需要。