* Every Last Detail

My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

There are passages in the Old Testament where I tend to struggle to stay focused. In the early years, especially, I thought, "Why is this in here? What relevance does it have to now?" All the strange names of fathers and sons I couldn't pronounce, all the generations and how many there were... Did you ever wonder?

I've read about the Tabernacle in the wilderness with all the minute details of each piece and post, and the linen ephod, and the outerwear, and even the underwear for the priests. Without meaning any disrespect, my observation was that it seems somehow tedious. However, now instead of wondering what relevance it has, I want to know WHY it is relevant. And I find myself asking, "Father, what is it You want me to learn in this?"

Let's face it. I'm not going to build a mobile tabernacle in the wilderness. I'm not going to sew linen ephods and add precious stones for the twelve tribes of Israel, but God chose to include all those details in His Word. And knowing that God wastes nothing, what is the purpose of all the details? And then I got it...

It is relevant because of the details. He is I AM - the God of everything. The God of details. Every little thing matters to Him. He has a plan for everything and He wants it done according to HIS standard. He wants the best. He wants perfection. And His way is exactly that.

When He planned our salvation before the foundation of the world, He chose perfection. He planned every last detail. Yes, He provides us mercy and grace, but those are not to excuse our sin. Christ's death and resurrection did not make excuses for us; He made restitution for our debt of sin. Christ gave His WHOLE self for us. We, in turn, owe Him our life. All of it. Every last detail.

Prayer:

Father,
            As we come before You, help us to be open and give You all the details of our lives. Help us to understand that we must bring everything - our whole self - as an offering to You so that You can make us new. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen