A Miracle for One Disciple
The examples of “divine intervention” I have shared in the immediately preceding posts have focused on a more macro level. This next example, however, illustrates that God also intervenes on a deeply personal, micro level.
In 2 Kings, we read about a group of disciples who trained together under the guidance of senior prophets like Elijah and Elisha in what we might call the “Schools of the Prophets.”1These disciples were building a larger place to live when one of them lost the head of a borrowed axe:
“But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
“And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
“Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it” (2 Kings 6:5-7).
Perhaps this seems like a small thing. But to the disciple who had borrowed the axe, it was anything but small.
Does God really care about details like this?
He does.
Neal A. Maxwell wrote: “So it is, amid the vastness of His creations, God’s personal shaping influence is felt in the details of our lives—not only in the details of the galaxies and molecules but, much more importantly, in the details of our own lives.”2
A Purple Ferris Wheel
I learned this lesson as a young father while I was in graduate school.
One day I took my daughter to a small pop-up fair. As we waited in line for the Ferris wheel, she noticed that each carriage was a different color. She asked if we could ride in the purple one because it matched the carriage in a favorite book we used to read together.
I wasn’t sure how I could make that happen, but I knew it mattered to her.
Before I had time to think about it, our turn came.
We got the purple carriage.
Tender Mercies
Maybe it was a coincidence.
But I have often heard it said that coincidence is God’s way of working a miracle.
To me, it was a tender mercy.
David. A Bednar taught:
“Some may count [these experiences] as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.
“. . . The Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindness, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.”3
The Little Things
And Ronald A. Rasband said:
“What may appear to be a random chance is, in fact, overseen by a loving Father in Heaven, who can number the hairs of every head. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father’s notice. The Lord is in the small details of our lives . . .”4
God does not always intervene in our lives because He honors our agency. But He does care about the details of our lives. Sometimes He sends these small miracles, these tender mercies, not because they are necessary for our survival, but because they remind us that we are known, loved, and remembered.
Grounded and Reaching High
- Main idea: God is not only involved in grand acts of deliverance but also in the small, personal details that matter to His children, revealing His love through tender mercies.
- Practical takeaway: Watch for seemingly ordinary moments that carry unexpected meaning. They may become quiet witnesses that God knows your individual circumstances.
- One question to ponder: What “small” experience in your life might actually have been a tender mercy that revealed God’s awareness of you?
Lead photo by Samuel Solcan on Unsplash
- see Bible Dictionary, “Schools of the Prophets“
- Neal A. Maxwell, “Becoming a Disciple“, Ensign, June 1996
- David A. Bednar, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord“, General Conference, April 2005
- Ronald A. Rasband, “By Divine Design“, General Conference, October 2017
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