I studied Exodus this summer, and throughout the second half, I was occasionally overwhelmed by all the particular, small, and specific details God insisted on when it came to the building of the Tabernacle. Not just that, but the whole second half of the book is devoted to God’s many (detailed) instructions about the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and the attire of the High Priest, right down to the threads of fabric and their colors that God wanted to be used, and to how many clasps would hold the various layers of Tabernacle fabric together.
We sometimes use the expression “don’t sweat the small stuff,” as a way to help someone who is needlessly worrying about unimportant details. Life is stuffed full of little things and we’re not if careful we can get bogged down and overwhelmed by them all. It’s good sometimes to stop, zoom out, and look at the big picture. What’s the overall goal you’re trying to achieve? Point your compass there and start heading for it. Don’t worry so much about the thousand little speed bumps you’ll encounter along the way. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t let yourself get too worked up over little things that won’t matter ten minutes after they pop up.
It’s good advice, generally speaking.
God, however, doesn’t need this advice. Setting aside the fact that God doesn’t need advice at all, He especially doesn’t need to be told not to sweat the small stuff because, to Him, no such thing exists. God doesn’t sweat the small stuff because God doesn’t sweat: God doesn’t stress, or get overwhelmed, or needlessly fixate on inconsequential things. That being said, just because God doesn’t “sweat” the small stuff, doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about “small” things. He does. The many details that fill the second half of Exodus show just how much God cares about little details. Yes, there are times when God gives big, broad commands, and leaves it to His people to carry them out however they want, but it’s more often the case that, when God orders something, He also orders exactly how He wants that thing done, right down to the “small” details.
God doesn’t sweat the small stuff, but He sometimes give commands that seem “small” to us. If He commands it, however, we dare not not call it “small.”
~Matthew
PS: Don’t forget that, at the end of September, we will enjoy our Family Day weekend Gospel Meeting with Barry Grider. Be here on Friday evening, September 26th, at 7pm, as well as Saturday evening, September 27th, at 7pm to hear two excellent lessons from God’s Word, both in the lead-up to our big Family Day Sunday on September 28th.