Sometimes a person thinks: "I am but an insignificant atom in the great universe; I cannot accomplish anything, and my loss would not be felt."
And feeling thus, he loses energy, and almost or entirely gives up the struggle.
There are several things to be thought of at such a time. One is that the universe is composed of atoms, each one in itself is as insignificant as any other. That which may be said of one may be said of all; if one can be dispensed with and no loss be felt, so might another one, and all the rest one by one.
That is, the universe might be destroyed without any notice being taken of it! You say that this cannot be; and neither can a single atom be lost without being missed. But here are some Scriptures to think of in this connection: "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" (Isaiah 40:12)
The answer is, God has; He has measured the dust of the earth, and weighed out the proper proportions for the mountains and hills to a single grain; there is not one too many or too few. He continues: "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, that brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one is lacking." (Isaiah 40:26)
And then He very purposely asks: "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed away from my God?" (Isaiah 40:27)
In place of Jacob and Israel, each individual may insert his own name, and it will read just the same.
Neither the earth nor the inhabitants came into existence by chance. God created them according to His eternal purpose. "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world." (Acts 15:18)
Nothing that occupied His thought in creation is too small for Him to notice afterward. He tells us that not a single sparrow is forgotten; God has them in His mind all the time. And as for us, each one of us may say to Him in truth: "You have formed my reins; You have knit me together in my mother's womb. ... My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the earth. Your eyes did see my unperfect substance, and in your book were all my members written, which day by day were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." (Psalm 139:13,15-16)
Surely God cares for that which He has taken such pains to make. God created everything for a purpose, and to every person He has given a work to do. It is not for us to say whether that work is of great or little importance. How can we know, when we have not seen the plan?
We know that God sees not as man sees, and His thoughts are not our thoughts; therefore we cannot estimate the value of things according to God's standard. All we can know is that everything and everybody is of importance,--how much or how little is none of our business.
Our part is to give diligence not to get out of the place where God puts us, so that we may always be ready to His hand, and to know that there is not a creature so insignificant but that it can be said: "The Lord has need of him." (Mark 11:3)--Present Truth, June 19, 1902--Psalm 139:13-16.