A common trait that most successful leaders posses is an appreciation for the details of their craft. The best coaches, musicians, actors, artists, athletes, writers, have been people who care enough to value the small things.

I’ve began reading a book about Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Would we appreciate this great accomplishment of art if Michelangelo ignored the details of his craft? Probably not. It is the excellence of the details that makes the art so grandiose. It is his attention to the details that cause people to gaze in wonder.

The details are also important in ministry because the details are important to God. We see this part of God’s character in the building of the tabernacle (Exodus 26) and in the creation of His people. We are now His temples (1 Corinthians 6:19) that are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). We are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) and even the hairs on our heads have been numbered (Matthew 10:30). The hairs are numbered because they matter. The hairs matter because we matter.  We have been created in Christ to do good works.

When Jesus told Peter how to catch fish, John specified that one hundred and fifty-three large fish were in the net (John 21:6-11). That’s a very specific number that reveals the grand work the Lord accomplished through Peter. The details matter. So value the details in your finances, your time, your ministry, and your craft. God is in the details.