I went shopping earlier in the week and one of the items on my list, I really needed, was deodorant.  The store I buy it from, most often, was out of it, and that store was my last stop for the day.  After I got home I had to start a new list with this item at the top.

Today, I had to go to CVS (inside a Target store) to pick up a medication.  The young lady who works there is always lecturing me about not letting the $5 off coupons expire.  She’s kind of fanatic about it, but I do see her point, it’s free money, and to be honest, the budget is tight these days and any savings helps.

So, before I left the store I thought about my next shopping list and the only thing I could remember, that was on it, was deodorant.  I found my brand and noticed it was marked “Clearance”.  I bought four of them.  The normal price for four would have been $11.96, but since they were a clearance item and I had the $5.00 off coupon, I only paid $3.32.

When I save money like that, I always walk out smiling, because I feel as though I shopped like a woman.  That’s meant as a compliment.  Now I know, this may not seem like a big deal to you, but to me I was thanking God.  I thanked him for the other store being out of it, and helping me not to complain about it, too much.  I thanked him for helping our budget.  This may be a little thing, but it shows the God of the universe cares about us, our lives, and even the little things.  Either that, or he didn’t want me walking around stinking!

But seriously, think about it, if God cares about the little things in our lives, then how much more does he care about the big things in our lives that need his attention.  There is a common phrase, “Don’t sweat the small things.”, but with God, we don’t have to sweat the big things either!  Here is what his word promises us:

Matthew 6:31-34 (MSG)  “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.