If the thought of a little brown bird being the object of God’s care was not pedantic enough to illustrate the depth and breadth of God’s care for His people, Jesus also mentions the hairs on our heads. He said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Of course, none of us even know how many hairs we have on our heads, because to count them would be an onerous exercise in futility. Not only would someone need to physically count individual hairs, but also discern when a hair becomes a hair to start with. Is it when the hair goes from translucent to opaque or when it reaches a particular length? Should a hair only be counted when it is clearly outside of the follicle that formed it? What if the follicle is just resting before putting forth a new hair?
One researcher noted, “All hair follicles are formed during fetal development, then new hair is generated in the hair follicle by continually undergoing phases of recession, rest, and growth throughout life. The length of the hair is determined by the duration of the growth phase; for example, the growth phase for scalp hair can proceed for a number of years, while the growth phase for eyebrows last a few months. After the growth phase, hair formation ceases, and the follicle recedes and enters a period of rest. After a period of rest, a new growth period starts, and the old hair is ejected and lost from the body. The reason for this complex regulation of hair growth is not understood.”
For these reasons, and the fact that hairs can be of various widths and lengths (making counting via weight impossible) no one is actually capable of counting the exact number of hairs on a particular human head. We can make generalizations (between 90 and 150 thousand, depending on natural hair color), but we cannot count to the number.
But God does count them. God formed each of us in our mother’s womb (Job 31:15, Isa 44:2, 24, 49:5, Jer 1:5). In doing that God set our genes such that the exact number of hairs He determined would grow (or not, as He determined).
The most minute details of our lives are not beyond God’s notice. In fact, they are part of God’s great care.
The practical implication of that fact (specially in the context Jesus mentions it in) is that we must know that God does care for us, no matter our circumstances.
It may take faith to remember that. But the circumstances we face – no matter how difficult – are not inflicted upon us without His care. God is good – all the time – and the harshest circumstance cannot overcome His care. The truth of those facts may not be obvious, but they are nevertheless true. The reality of our own hair (or lack thereof) is a testimony to it.
God’s care for us is real, and that reality must be enough to sustain us when circumstances set us to doubt. Amen.
They who are solicitous to number their money, and goods, and cattle, yet were never careful to number their hairs, which fall and are lost, and they never miss them: but God numbers the hairs of his people, and not a hair of their head shall perish (Lu. 21:18); not the least hurt shall be done them, but upon a valuable consideration: so precious to God are his saints, and their lives and deaths!
Matthew Henry
APPLICATION: Intentionality
The next time you feel abandoned by God in your distress, look at the top of your head and consider anew His providential care for each of us!