The devil’s not in the detail, God is

Something bad happened to her.

What and when is not important to the story. It was a bad thing, out of the blue. The kind of thing that hits you like a ton of bricks and changes the world you thought you knew. Her world was changed in an instant.

But here’s the thing: When the news came, she was sitting with two of her closest friends. She hadn’t even meant to be with anyone that day. The coffee catch up was a spur of the moment thing. So when it happened, they hugged her, mopped her up and prayed for her.

On top of that, she had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon. Again, for nothing other than a general check up booked on the spur of the moment the week before. But when the news came, she had an appointment the same day ready to go. Had it not been for that, she wouldn’t have been able to see her family doctor for another week.

There were other things as well. Seemingly small insignificant details but which all combined to make the situation that little bit clearer and her ability to cope within it a little bit easier.

At the beginning, she could see nothing but the situation. But as each detail revealed itself, her comfort in God grew. She could see him. And she knew that he saw her. The situation was still bad. The suffering was still great. But he was with her. He was building her resilience through her knowledge of his presence.

God never promised us a life free of trial and anguish. In this fallen world, nothing will be right until the new heaven and new earth come and we live pain free and sadness free with him. In our broken ‘now’, he did promise to be with us.

The book of Job teaches us that bad things happen to good people. But Scripture also teaches us that “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deut. 31:8) He had gone before her – he was with her the week before when she decided to book a doctors appointment and he was with her that morning when she decided to call up her friends for a spontaneous coffee.

This is why, as Paul told the Thessalonians, we can pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:16-18). We don’t thank God for the situation. We thank God in the situation. Even though we can’t see God, we saw him in the image of his son and we know that Jesus wept with Mary when she told him of her brother Lazarus’ death – he wept even when he knew what the outcome was, that he would raise him back to life . God feels with us. Our circumstances pain him. That’s why we can trust him, and lean on him, especially when we then see his hand in the smallest of details. He is the great God who is sovereign over all things. He is also our personal saviour who sees our agony and works in our individual lives to comfort and love us.

I can see her still in pain, and none of us know how the situation will turn out. Only God does. But I can see God in the details, and critically so can she.