Several years ago, the agency I worked for held a charity ball. They had tons of full wine bottles left over and gave them to the employees. I didn't drink, but accepted the gift. I put it it in my room and forgot about it. I later moved out of my mother's house. I came back when I lost my job, my relationship, and car. I was in a bad state when I came back. This was a perfect recipe for someone becoming an alcoholic or drug addict.
I passed those wine bottles almost everyday for two years. I didn't remember that I still had them. They were on the floor and I guess the great distance between my eyes and the floor caused me to overlook them. Things slowly started getting better. However, I think I would have become an alcoholic if those bottles had been brought to mind.
Recently, God let me find a wool Fiddler cap that had gone missing. I looked all over the place. We called the in-laws where I last remembered wearing it. I was afraid that I was going to have to fork out some cash for a new one.But this one had been with me through some times. This hat was already a replacement for a previously missing hat. The men in my family love our headgear. My grandfather was notorious for leaving his hats everywhere and then going back to retrieve them, even if the place he had left them was hours away. My wife found the cap. I rejoiced like the woman in Luke 15:8.
These small mercies are sufficient and sustain us by giving us joy or relief, reminding us of God's provision. Sometimes, they even bring us into the reality of His presence. For example, I had one of the best conversations I had ever had with God recently. I struggled with scrupulosity, a form of OCD in which the person believes they are beyond God's love or redemption. Although not nearly as bad as it was a few years ago, there are sometimes brief periods where I still struggle with doubt. But God won't work with someone who is too far gone and the conversation was just what I needed to know that I have a relationship with Him.
If you are unable to believe God for big things, look out for the small mercies because they will add up.