What word goes in the blank I left in the subject line?
If you’ve heard that familiar idiom, you’d correctly answer that the devil is in the details. But if you listen to Episode 107 of my podcast, Believe & Speak, then you might answer differently.
The Lord God is in the details. In fact, he delights in the details.
The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
— Psalm 37:23 (NLT)
God proved to me recently that he not only delights in the details, he also orchestrates amazing “coincidences” based on those details.
My husband, Steve, and I have operated our own business since the early years of our marriage. Steve has a strong work ethic and a drive to succeed, which produces both positive and negative results. Since there’s no such thing as paid time off for the self-employed, Steve rarely gave himself a vacation. I’d grown up taking a family vacation every summer, but feared our children would grow up without them.
I promised myself I’d find a way to take my family on adventures that lasted longer than three days. I prodded Steve and prayed to God.
Then, in the weeks before our 18th wedding anniversary, when our oldest child was 12, I received a postcard offering a low-cost, four-day, three-night stay at a lovely resort in Southern California.
Could this hook to purchase a timeshare be the answer to my promise, prodding, and prayers?
Steve let me book the resort for our anniversary, agreeing that the 90-minute sales presentation was a small price to pay for an affordable getaway.
The hook took! For 17 years now, my family has been “forced” to take vacations. We’ve taken our kids to Disneyland and Disney World. We’ve spent time together soaking up the sun in Palm Beach and Puerto Vallarta. We’ve made precious memories and enjoyed many adventures that lasted longer than three days.
Now that my daughter is married with children and my son will wed his bride in April, I have begun to pray for God to provide a way for us to vacation together—all together.
In the weeks before our 35th wedding anniversary, when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc on the travel industry, I received a phone call offering a free, four-day, three-night stay at that same lovely resort in Southern California to long-time owners like us.
It wasn’t until Steve agreed to let me book the resort for our anniversary, even though it requires attending another 90-minute sales presentation, that I grasped the “coincidence” God had orchestrated.
Could this hook to purchase another timeshare be the answer to my more recent prayers?
I will be celebrating my 60th birthday the week of Thanksgiving 2022. My heart’s desire is to take my entire family on an unforgettable vacation—maybe even to Hawaii! As Steve and I near retirement and consider downsizing, we may be able to find room in our budget to increase our annual vacation expenses.
Our anniversary trip is coming soon. I have no idea if we’ll bite the same hook that took our family on so many adventures over the past 17 years.
But I do know one thing.
The Lord God delights in the details, and he will direct our steps.
Whenever the devil disrupts the details of your life, read Psalm 37. All of it. Filled with blessings for the godly and curses for the wicked, this wonderful psalm of David will remind you who’s really in charge of (and delighted with) all the details.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
— Psalm 37:4-5 (NLT)
The Lord God delights in the details of our lives, which makes it easy to take delight in him.
