As I begin this, I am reminded of the lyrics of a song: “God is in the story, God is in the detail.”
As a young Christian, I erroneously assumed that God is only interested in my “walk with Him” - my spiritual expressions. Soon, I discovered that many Christians also share this assumption. However, as we grow in faith, we begin to see God’s fingerprints even in ordinary things. Hence, we understand that, indeed, "Coincidences happen when God chooses to remain anonymous."
What can be described as random: Taking a walk home? Having a meal? Sitting quietly in a corner? Going for a medical check-up? Doing house chores? Getting a gift for a friend? Perhaps taking a nap? Or attending an event?
Why do we think such activities are too trivial for God's involvement? Why do we think God isn't interested in us during those ordinary moments?
Don't you ever wonder how an intended gift meets a pressing need? Haven't you also received such timely gifts? What of those quiet near-misses— cut from a knife, a slip on wet tile—where you somehow catch your balance, or fall and somehow escape serious injury?
Consider the times you were steered away from trouble inexplicably. Perhaps a time you had a gentle prompt to change course or an unexplained hesitation to avoid a place or setting. Even the rejections that once felt painful, in hindsight, are now reasons for thanksgiving.
Consider those moments of retreating into quiet solitude and you are approached with an unexpected word—spoken without knowledge of your hidden turmoil, yet crafted in perfection to meet the immediate needs of your soul.
What about those moments you were encouraged to try something new, or take up new roles? Yet, those new things or roles proved to be something desperately needed. Have we not also heard of people who lost their lives because they consumed something they should not have?
In the account of Luke in Luke 24:13–35, the disciples on the road to Emmaus were simply on a journey, yet Jesus met them along the way. In Genesis 28:10–15, Jacob was on a journey when, while asleep, he encountered God in a dream. The first miracle of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John took place at an event. A striking pattern recorded in the Gospels is that Jesus called His disciple in the rhythm of their everyday occupations. From casting nets into the sea to sitting at tax booths, Jesus demonstrated that divine events intersect directly with human routine.
When the Psalmist asks in Psalm 8:4, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" salvation only doesn't capture the fullness of divine mindfulness. It is an active continuous attentiveness to the minute details of our humanity—the timely rejections, the mercies that steadies our feets, the delays that offer protection, the sacred encounters that meet us amidst a busy schedule.
Hagar acknowledged God as El-roi (Genesis 16:13), the significance of that name did not resonate deeply with me until I came across Isaiah 40:26–27. Now, I know El-roi. God sees. He knows. He is mindful of me, even when I cannot perceive His presence or understand His actions.
Just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus walks with us through every day of our lives. The Holy Spirit resides in us when we are awake or asleep, either in church or in the marketplace. Beyond the obvious, God is involved in every detail of our lives. Wherever we are and whatever we do, He is interested.
As Christians, as we journey in faith, we should see how God continuously works things out for our favour and our good even in the background. To Him, nothing about us is random. Nothing about us is ordinary. And we know that we are the most precious of all that He has made.
My prayer is for us to see Jesus in all we do. I pray that we begin to live by Proverbs 3:5-7 and learn to consciously involve the Holy Spirit in the details of our lives. May we grow to experience more of God’s love as we see Him work through the details of our lives for His good pleasure. Amen.
Inkhorn Literary
He speaks. We write.
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