HOPE 365 Toolbox - Weekly Devotion - February 24th

Every Little Thing

By Cooper Johnson
Junior at West Seattle HS and active in Hope's ofour2 HS Youth Group

Sometimes it can be difficult to believe that God actually cares about the minor inconveniences in your life. It can seem like we all just muddle through our daily dose of annoyances while God sits in Heaven and focuses on the big picture. A great example is this pandemic. Looking at the scope of a global crisis like this, it can be difficult to feel like your day-to-day issues, such as stubbing your toe or burning your meal, matter at all to the all-powerful Creator of the Universe.

However, scripture says otherwise. When Jesus’ mother Mary was attending a wedding party and the wine ran out, he cared deeply enough to perform a miracle and turn water into wine for the party - and not just any miracle, but his very first miracle! He cared deeply for her to reveal his almighty powers in that simple of a way. Turning water into wine pales in comparison to raising the dead to life or calming a storm with a word!

When I read this Scripture, one specific verse stood out to me: where the master of the banquet remarks on the quality of the wine, saying, “‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’” (John 2:10) Jesus produced not just any wine, but choice wine worthy of a great banquet! In the same way, he doesn’t just want us to scrape by here on Earth, dealing with our problems and accepting sub-par solutions, he wants us to live our very best lives through him!

It is especially important to realize this truth during the pandemic. Despite the global-level issues affecting our lives, Jesus doesn’t want us to just pass off the minor inconveniences of our day. He cares about us deeply enough that he wants us to experience the best life we possibly can and the first step to achieving that is to obey the words of Mary when she commanded the servants regarding Jesus, “Do whatever he tells you”. (John 2:5)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my heart to your love and my ears to what you are commanding me to do. Help me to know that you aren’t ignoring my daily issues, but recognizing every one of them and working to make my life better, which is only possible through you. You care about “every little thing, all day” Help me to love those around me in the same way. Amen.