Missing the Small Details

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

by Alexandra Copeland

Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) tells us, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Right away we can see two agendas in this very simple but poignant verse. The wisdom of God’s Word is so on point that it is downright mind-blowing. We pick our brains trying to come up with solutions to our issues, when the Word gives us everything that we could ever possibly need.  We’re always coming up with our own ways to approach the problems we face, and sometimes we do so with very little focus or attention on how Jesus Christ would want us to approach the thing we’re dealing with. As Christians, this is very definitely a habit pattern that we’re going to have to turn loose.

God determines our steps, and we make the commitment to allow Him to do so when we become born again. Becoming born again means that we realize we lack entirely the wherewithal to successfully navigate life on our own. So most of us make Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives because we recognize that we need his help, and we want to become a part of God’s family. We then begin a journey of learning to please God by following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In very simplistic terms, a person would be deemed a ‘lord’ if he or she has done something to the very best ability that it can be done. They have achieved a status that is so high that lordship is the only suitable distinction for their efforts. It’s the highest honor, held in the greatest esteem imaginable, but even when we think of lordship in this manner, it still pales in comparison to all that Jesus Christ is to us. He is Lord! His track record proves that he deserves to be in the head position of our lives.

The Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 13:12 (NLT), “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”  We don’t know the whole story. We know in part, and we prophesy in part. Through His Word, God has revealed everything that we need to know in order to flourish in the earth, but there is still so much more that isn’t in His Word. There are things that we will not know now, because it cannot be known; God hasn’t revealed it yet.

We don’t know the future, and we don’t know what is going to happen in our own lives beyond the present, but our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, knows. This is why it is so incredibly important to walk by the spirit. Jesus Christ said in John 16:13 (NLT), “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” The Spirit that indwells us is our teacher. He is a revealer of truth. He doesn’t tell us about himself, he tells us information that Jesus Christ has told him to speak into our hearts.

Jesus Christ very clearly informs us that one of the Spirit’s occupations is to guide us into all truth. He guides our steps, and helps us navigate the unknown. So as you might well imagine, one of our greatest mistakes is not allowing ourselves to be guided. Most of us would deny that we’ve ever done this, but it happens more often than not. We make our own plans and agendas. We want what we want when we want it. God’s agenda doesn’t always go along with this.

He has a plan for the entire universe, and there are millions upon millions of moving parts and details that have to come together in any given moment. God has miraculously woven all of this together so that it works cooperatively for each believer’s overall well-being, and it doesn’t take much to see that this system of moving parts, all working together for our good, requires our patience. It requires that we become knowledgeable about God’s plan and how we fit into it.

There are things that you can do for God’s Kingdom, and no one else can do them quite the way you do. Heavenly Father has embedded a specialized offering and ability within your makeup, and you are uniquely suited to carry it forth, but for many of us, our own personal agendas get in the way. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’d have to admit that we flat-out miss the details sometimes. We miss saying ‘good morning’ to a person that desperately needs to see a warm smile and hear words of kindness. We miss sending a card to a friend for whom no one else remembers his or her birthday. We miss following through on someone we’ve witnessed to because our schedules became too busy. These are just a few examples of small details that are so integral to our purpose, and yet we allow them to slip so easily through our fingers.

Not too long ago, I heard about a young man that had an experience of heaven when he lost consciousness, and for all intents and purposes was considered to be dead. When asked about the thing that stuck out most for him in this experience, he remarked that when going before God’s judgement, he was struck by how much the small things mattered. It was the little things—those small acts of consistent kindness and reverence for Heavenly Father that meant so much to God.

Our lives are busier than ever. We have more gadgets to make life easier than ever before, and yet we still cannot figure out how to maximize our time. Psalm 37:23 tells us, “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” We need to make a shift and begin to pay more attention to the things that mean the most to God, and the Spirit that indwells us will help us. He’ll give us those little reminders that remind us that God has already determined our steps, and He knows where we need to be, when we need to be there, and how to get us there.

The small details of mindfulness when it comes to God’s plan are the most important of any we can encounter. People mean the most to God, and as Christians we must remember this. There are so very many things that we can do within the course of just one single day that will help to show people that Jesus Christ is real. These are details that we can’t afford to miss. Pray that God will bless you with a greater sensitivity in the spirit. Then, commit yourself to a habit pattern of spending quality, quiet time with Him. Before you know it, you’ll begin to see the details that you’ve been missing. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.