God Loves You!

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”


Psalm 8:3-4


Like most people I enjoy a good love story. I like love songs, movies that are about love stories, heck, I can cry just watching a heartfelt Instagram “reel” captured on social media. The things that people do that get me the most choked up are not big things that they do, but rather the small seemingly insignificant things that people do for others that can easily go unnoticed by most during the course of a given day. The blessing of paying attention to the little things in life makes us more appreciative of all the things God does on a daily basis to reveal His love to us and to demonstrate His care for us.

There is probably not a week that goes by that someone asks the question, “where is God” unsure of His presence in a particular situation they are facing. It’s not that they don’t theologically understand that God is everywhere. What they are declaring in their question is that they can’t see what He is doing or they do not feel His presence. I get it, as I think we all feel that way at times. What breaks my heart though is people living their lives believing God is not involved in their day to day lives when in reality His fingerprints are everywhere. Thats what the psalmist conveys in Psalms 8 and 139.

For me, a quote I read the other day sums up my hope and prayer for each and every person on the planet today. It said, “It was a million tiny little things that when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together and I knew it.” I thought about that as I walked away from a homeless man I was sharing Jesus with early one morning. I noticed him sitting on the sidewalk across the street from our church with his head bobbing back and forth like my grandson Brady would do when falling asleep in his jumper. I honked the horn to get his attention then signaled him when he finally snapped out of it and noticed me waving and he got up and walked over to me.

I introduced myself and then asked him if he he knew that Jesus loved him and he didn’t know how to respond so he began to say something about Jesus being one of the many gods in the world. As I tried to explain Jesus was the one and only true God I found quickly I wasn’t getting anywhere so God decided to step in and take care of things Himself. I felt as if God was saying, “just ask the man if he liked donuts.” I had three big boxes and one small box on top in the backseat of my truck. He said yes as I was reaching in to get the boxes. I continued by asking, “hey, what’s your favorite donut?” He responded, “apple fritters are my favorite.” I said, “do you think God loves you,” rhetorically speaking. I continued, “of course God loves you. Look at the box right here on top and I opened it up and there were not one, not two, not three, but four of the giant size apple fritters. (I felt much like I think a magician would feel at seeing the faces of his astonished audience when he makes something seem to appear out of nowhere.) I said excitedly, “you see, God not only loves you but He knows what you have need of any before you ask.” He smiled and said “thank you” as he took one bite after another. He was hungry.

We talked for a few more minutes than I had to leave but not without knowing myself we had just an encounter with the God of heaven who lined out the events of the morning so this guy could know that God loves him by having me deliver an apple fritter to someone in need. That was just one little way God shows Himself in the world. What some would say was nothing more than a coincidence, I say it’s providence, divine providence at that. The book of James reminds us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” The next time something good happens in your life remember where it came from, it came from God. Take time to thank Him, understanding that the more grateful we are the more aware we become that God is there. And sometimes He even brings apple fritters!

“… Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Genesis 28:16


I LOVE YOU!