Nothing is Too Small

Let’s admit it, there are parts of the Bible you just skip over.

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and we do it because, well, we think they are boring. But don’t flip through a book like Leviticus; don’t rush through Leviticus with all those regulations about boiling a goat in his mother’s milk just because it feels totally and completely irrelevant. Because remember that everything, even the most mundane and insignificant regulations in Leviticus are important because it’s all God’s Word to us. So, okay, let’s just pick a random verse in the book of Leviticus like this one in the 14^th chapter where God says, “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land, the owner of the house must go and tell the priest.” Like, that’s a verse you don’t even give thought to, right? It’s pointless. But take a closer look. Because we tend to think that God’s sovereignty, that is, his “having-been-decided-beforehand decrees” only comes into play when monumental things are at stake — the salvation of humanity, the fate of entire nations, the rise and fall of tyrants, or other really big occasions. But everyday things like sowbugs in the shower, rust on a faucet; we think these things happen on automatic pilot. But is that so?

Yes, things like creeping mildew are ordinary, it’s almost silly to put it in the same sentence with Almighty God. But in this passage in Leviticus 14, God dispenses instructions for dealing with mildew – a household nuisance, you’d think, but hardly something affecting the fate of entire nations. But God gives a directive. He gives instructions. He notices things like mold under the floorboard and, back then, when people could see a spreading mildew placed by God, Old Testament homeowners were to call for a priest who would follow certain procedures to eradicate the microbes. And here’s my point. The instructions were for a mildew “spread by God.” But how do people distinguish God-sent mildew from the kind that just creeps across the walls without divine assistance? The Bible doesn’t say. And I wonder why?

The lesson is this: Nothing – zero, zilch, nothing, nada – happens outside of God’s decree. Nothing good, nothing bad, nothing pleasant, nothing tragic. And no matter how small and seemingly insignificant; even then, whether it’s microbes on your showerhead or microbes attacking your lungs, nothing is too small for God. Not in my life or yours. We may not fathom God’s reasons, we may not agree with his thinking, we may love him for it, or we may resent him for it. But in simple language, God works out everything for his ends – even the wicked for the day of judgment, it says in Proverbs. And Psalm 115 makes it clear: “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” 

This fact – the fact of his decree – keeps absolutely everything in balance.  If he did not control bad things – from mildew to mayhem – our world would be worse, a lot worse than the headaches and hardships we face today. So, do this today: Think of five little, irksome annoyances in your life. Just five. And let them be a reminder to thank your sovereign God for the amazing way he balances and protects your life. Praise him for his sovereignty, especially if you are scrubbing mildew off your shower wall.

© Joni and Friends