Hair in the Brush - Revised

 This post was originally written on September 9, 2008.  We are revising it here today.

Hair in The Brush       

 The other day, after brushing my hair, I noticed how much hair was stuck in my brush.  The verse came to mind, “... the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:30)” 

As I looked at the rather substantial amount of hair in the brush I wondered just how many hairs were there.  I couldn’t begin to guess and I certainly didn’t want to take the time or effort to count them.  But of course, the Lord knew the answer at that moment, as He does in every moment.  The number is constantly changing, because I am one of those people who constantly loses hair throughout the day.  I am not sure who leaves more hair on the floor, me or our dog Ellie.

Then I wondered, why does the Lord number the hairs on our heads?  It couldn’t be just for punctilious knowledge. (Okay, I confess, "punctilious" is one of my favorite words, but I hardly ever get to use it, so I had to throw it in there when I could.)  There has to be a reason why He numbers our hairs, after all, as the human body goes, hairs are just about the most inconsequential things we have.  It’s one of the things in our body we can lose and still function well.  

There is an obvious reason why He numbers them and that is because He loves us. 

I love our beagle Ellie and I know all about her body.  I am the one to bathe her, to brush her teeth, and to trim her paws.  I know the size and location of that little lump she has by her right foreleg (the one the vet says is okay, but just keep an eye on it to make sure it isn’t growing.)  Why do I know all that? Because I love her and I take care of her.

But there is something else about God numbering our hairs.  He doesn’t just number the hairs on our heads, He numbers our skin cells, too.  And our cardiac cells, and our nerve cells, our white blood cells …every cell in our bodies.  At this very moment, He knows which cardiac cells are contracting in sync and which are resting.  He knows our blood sugar, our cholesterol, our blood pressure.  He knows all this - and so much more- for every single human alive.  Not only that, but He knows those things for every animal, every insect, every reptile, and every living creature.  He knows the plants, too. He knows every atom in every part of His creation. Why?  Precisely because we are His creation and He keeps that creation upheld His power.  

This is not an objective, scientific, detached knowing.  It is like my knowing of Ellie, only so much greater.  It is an intimate, loving caring knowing.  It is the knowing of a tender Father who knows and cares for His child and seeks the best in that child’s life.  

In every moment, every second, He knows minute changes in our bodies that we will never know. At the same time, He is working in us to do and to will of His good pleasure spiritually.  

He knows the path upon which we walk and the feet with which we walk it.  He knows which steps bring pain and which paths fill us with joy.  Like a little child, who instinctively lifts their little hand up to their parent, may we have the wisdom to know how much we also need to be led and to trust the One who knows us much more than wwe can ever know ourselves.

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."

I Peter 5:7