When my children attended Sunday School, one of their favourite choruses they liked to sing with gusto was My God is so Big. It went something like this: “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do!”
On the way home from church, they would often try to find words that could represent how big God actually was. This led to a whole series of made-up words. As I pondered what words I would use to describe how big God is, I found myself in a similar position, struggling to find the right words!
If I really thought about it, I should have gone straight to God’s Word, the Bible, and found the words I was looking for. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 48, verse 13 it states: “Indeed My hand has laid the foundations of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand together!”
How big is our God that these things can happen simply because of His command? God says and they do! Now that is big.
Some of us may get overwhelmed by God’s grandeur and wonder, can God care for me and my daily troubles and woes? The simple answer is ‘Yes, He can!’
The words contained in the New Testament book of Luke in chapter 12, verses 6 to 7 capture this perfectly when it states: “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one sparrow is forgotten before God. But the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows!”
God values all parts of His creation, including tiny little sparrows, more than you and I can appreciate. God finds a way to feed them, supply them with trees and twigs for their nests, and bring other sparrows to them. God cares so much for tiny sparrows that He keeps a running inventory of them!
But how about you and me?
As the words from Luke reveal, God knows you and me so well that He even knows the number of hairs on our head. It’s like His inventory of you and me includes numbering each strand! (Mind you, for some of us, God has used invisible ink to do this!)
One of life’s basic principles is that when you love or deeply care for someone, you notice details. When a baby is born, parents always count the baby’s toes and fingers. They want to know this detail. For years later, every time that child walks in through the door, if they happen to be missing a finger or toe, the parents would notice.
By telling us that God counts the hairs on our head, Jesus was saying God doesn’t only number your fingers and toes. He loves you so much that He even numbers the hairs on your head. He notices their quantity. He notices their colour. He notices their length, such is the depth of His love and care for us.
As we have the opportunity to speak to the students in devotions at the start of the day, we have this incredible opportunity to help our students realise, understand and deeply appreciate how loved they are by God. He knows them each by name, personality and even the number of hairs on their head.
The prayer that the staff and I continually hold is that, as they spend time within this incredible, vibrant, gospel-centred community, they will be drawn to God and personally experience His love in their lives. They will come to know, understand and appreciate that they are deeply loved and cared for by God.