Jesus — Lord of the little things . . .

On Monday, I took sunglasses to a nearby eye clinic that I’d not been in before. One lens had popped out and they fixed it for me. As they handed the glasses back, I remarked that my problem with these glasses was not being able to find a protective case that was the right size. The person behind the counter said she might have one and went to the back. Sure enough, she returned with just the right case.

When I asked how much, she said, “Nothing. We had some sun glasses stolen last year and left all the cases.” I thanked her, and I thanked God. This was a little event in life, but as said yesterday, Jesus Christ is Lord over all, both little and enormous events. Knowing this makes trusting Him a part of life.

Yesterday was larger than little, but not earth shattering. My hubby had minor day surgery, but a pain-killer shot put a nerve out of commission for a few hours and he could not walk. Then the pharmacist took issue with the doctor’s prescription and took about 3-4 times as long to fill it. While this sequence of events had potential for stress, my heart was not distressed; Jesus is in charge, even though the druggist insisted he was. 😊

Today’s passage is about the future and describes the multitude that have learned the same reality; Jesus is Lord. They experienced far greater troubles than mine, but because of Jesus, they were secure.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’

“Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” (Revelation 7:9–17)

I am not a ‘big picture’ person. Sometimes the details of life loom large and I ‘cannot see the forest for the trees’ — and this passage of Scripture is like a forest. It does not give details such as the names of the nations and people groups. It does not describe their tribulations or how they served God. But it does say they will never be hungry or thirsty again — does that mean they suffered hunger and thirst? It does say they will not suffer from extreme heat nor will they weep anymore — does that mean their trials included a global heat wave and much devastating sorrow? Whatever the details of their lives, Jesus shelters them with His presence and will lead them to living water where their sorrow will never return.

The beauty of this hope is not difficult to imagine after the small tastes of the Shepherd’s care in the smaller trials of life. He makes my heart calm when I know what it would be doing without Him. He erases anxiety and blesses my soul with amazing peace. He blows frustration away like feathers in the wind, and for fatigue gives deep and restoring sleep, sleep that would escape me if I didn’t know that Jesus is in charge.

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Lord Jesus Christ, Savior and Protector of my soul and my life, I thank You for being who You are, for showing me in the course of life that You have the power and grace to make all of it a good and rewarding experience. You take care of details that would make me fret and grind my teeth without You. And even when I do grind my teeth, You show me later that such stress was totally unnecessary — for You were and always are in charge of all things!