God Helps in
Small Things

A lost camera helps reveal God’s love and care from a new perspective.

By Karen Barrett

There it was. That troublesome little thought struggled through the mists of my half asleep mind and then surfaced triumphant. Immediately I was wide awake. And mentally trotting right along the same trail I had been over time and time again.

Where was that camera?

How annoying that fretting over such an insignificant thing would wake me in the middle of the night! It wasn’t as if the camera was so tremendously valuable. And no family birthday parties or vacations were in the planning stage at the moment, so I didn’t need to take any pictures. But the simple fact was, the camera was missing. And though my mental gymnastics on the subject had brought no results, I hadn’t been able to get it out of my mind.

That night I started going over the whole thing once more. I mentally checked through the house room by room. Had I looked there? Had thought of this place? But all of a sudden, a different thought worked its way between the back closets and cupboards I was mentally investigating.

God knows just where that camera is!

That’s right! I reflected, staring up at the ceiling: He can see that camera right now. Why should I waste any more time thinking about it? I can’t say I specifically prayed that God would tell me where the camera was, but suddenly I wasn’t concerned about it any longer. I actually started to drift off to sleep. And then something just said, “Go look in your daughter’s box of hair ribbons.”

Well, you can guess what happened. I got up and headed for my daughter’s bedroom. And sure enough, there was the camera buried deep in loops of multicolored satin.

A lesson learned

God used that incident with the camera to help me understand something about His nature that I had never fully grasped before. To put it simply: He cares about the little problems in our lives!

Of course I already knew that we must take every major crisis to Him. My husband and I were in the process of raising a family, and we had faced our share of difficulties. One way or another, God had always brought us through. But somehow, I didn’t feel comfortable troubling God with the inconsequential concerns of day-to-day living. When He was dealing with this crisis-ridden and sinful world, it hardly seemed right to presume He could take time for balancing budgets or helping with homework!

The incident of the camera, however, started my thinking about that subject a little differently. Could it be that God really was concerned about the details of my existence? There might be those who would try to persuade me it was just chance that I suddenly figured out where that camera was. But I knew for sure that it was God. And the very fact that He had proved His concern by working out such a small matter helped me begin to look at His greatness in a new way.

A new perspective

I believe God had a bigger purpose in view that night than just putting my mind at rest. He began to help me see His love and care from a new perspective. I’ve found out that there aren’t any areas in our lives that escape God’s attention because they are so trivial. “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” we are told in Matthew 6:32. All! He sees the little concerns as well as the big ones. In Philippians 4:19 we read, “My God shall supply all your need.” Again the word all!

God is willing to get right down to the basics of our existence. He loves us enough to meet us where we live, to walk with us through our world of lost dogs, sick kids, and cranky carburetors. He doesn’t refuse to give us wisdom in talking to a teacher about our son’s reluctance to go to school. The fact that we really can’t afford to replace the refrigerator this month doesn’t escape His notice. He cares! And He will help.

The help we need

Now, that doesn’t mean God will provide a “quick fix” solution for every problem we face, no matter what the scope. Sometimes He may step in and intervene miraculously. At other times the teacher may prove to be less than understanding. The refrigerator may quit running altogether. But if we have talked to Him about the situation, we have an assurance that He has His hand over it. He will give us the help He knows we really need, and that is His all-sufficient grace.

I don’t know what’s facing you, but I know that God cares. He will meet your needs, all the way from the major complications of your life down to the minor complexities.

That is, if you’ll let Him.

Karen Barrett is Office Manager at the Apostolic Faith Church International Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.